REMINISCENCES, 

OR 

t 

A FEW GLIMPSES FROM OVER THE SEA. 



BY 



J-^nSTET. 



1 -^^,\\. 

3 $3/7^ v^ 

Philadelphia: 

COLLINS & CO. 

1891. 



? 



t1 [ 



THE LIBRARY j 
OF CONGRESS 

WASHINGTON 



COPYRIGHTED, l8oi, 

By N, J. H. COLLINS. 



Qa^ 



PREFACE. 



The present volume is composed mainly of a record 
made for future personal reference and pleasure as the 
scenes came to view— not intended for the public, 
An after-thought led to the contribution of the Notes 
as a serial to the columns of the Christian Instruc- 
tor under the title " Reminiscences." The author is 
almost surprised at her yielding to the request of 
many friends to put them in the form of a book. The 
journey over the sea was in company with her hus- 
band, his brother and sister. If but a little of the 
delight and intelligence realized by the author shall be 
gathered by the reader, the publication shall not be 
regretted. The Reminiscences have been to a limited 
extent revised, and a few pages have been added. 



CONTENTS. 



I. — Across the Ocean and into England, . . i 

II. — Warwickshire — Leamington, .... 14 

III. — London — Windsor, 33 

IV. — Scotland — Roxboroughshire, .... 47 

V. — Edinburgh, 55 

VI. — Stirling — Perthshire, 94 

VII. KlLLIEKRANKIE St. ANDREWS, . . . . 1 l6 

VIII. — Glasgow — The Lochs, 167 

IX. — Rothesay — Ben Nevis, 184 

X. — Strathaven — Drumclog, 195 

XI. — Martyr Land — Ayrshire, 208 

XII. CUMNOCH AlRSMOSS, 220 

XIII. — Dumfries and Environs, 229 

XIV. — Wigtown — Farewell to Scotland, . 239 

XV. — Across the Channel — Belfast, . . . 252 

XVI. — Giants' Causeway — Londonderry, . . 264 

XVII. — Dublin — Queenstown, 280 

XVIII. — Newfoundland — Home, 291 



LEAVING OUR HOME. 



One of the salient features of American civilization 
is the disposition to move about over the face of the 
earth. With resistless impelling force, citizens of this 
country turn outward to all points of the compass for 
education, for pleasure, for profit and for all the varie- 
ties of stimulus that round out the humanity of our 
existence and make it terse, available and fortified. 
Americans are Jewish in many features. They are 
willing to live in any place, to go anywhere, to endure 
anything for profit first, and then for experience or 
education, and lastly, for pleasure. They are always 
tugging away at the problem of profit and loss. 

Nerve force is very expensive, and our percentage 
of loss in that line very often far exceeds the sum of 
the gains in the other lines. Frequently there is an 
alarming deficit in the nerve force before we have the 
least conception of the drain that is accomplishing the 
mischief. The cause of this want of balance may be 
climatic, or it may be induced by the magnitude of the 
country we have in control, which we are in a hurry 
to subdue and replenish with corn and wheat and 
counting-houses and banks and what not. Possibly it 
is the intermingling of races cropping out that gives 
us such versatility and revolves us so freely to all the 
ends of the earth. Certain it is, that a great mass of 



2 REMINISCENCES. 

us Americans, speaking at large, are always either at 
the station ready to go some place, or packing our 
trunks for departure, or else we have just arrived from 
some journey, with the feeling that it is just the way to 
make the world move. To stay at home and be satis- 
fied and treasure our nerve force and do some calm, 
quiet thinking is the exception. We have all this nice 
time of staying at home in view. After awhile, it will 
become the fashion to stay at home ; for everything 
moves in cycles. 

Our little company, with American blood and in- 
stincts and aspirations, were ready June 22nd, to em- 
bark beyond the seas on the " Queen," of the National 
Line. Our preliminaries were few and simple, because 
out of a fair investment in physical health our balance 
had for some time been moving over to the debit side 
of the column, and we had become largely in arrears. 

We sailed out of New York harbor at six P. M. We 
were brimful of expectancy and satisfaction with our- 
selves and all the world besides. In a dream of years' 
standing, it was the first tangible thing that had ap- 
peared. The dream had had periodic, and often 
indeed spasmodic, returns ; but it always faded as doth 
a dream of the night. Now it was at least the dawn 
of fruition. Just as the heavy machinery began to send 
a delightful thrill of life through the ship, and she was 
trembling preparatory to tossing grandly out into the 
sea, a thunder storm burst upon us, and the rain fell in 
torrents. The cabin passengers were not numerous, 
but they were very intelligent and companionable, and 
disposed to be gracious toward each other. Most of 
us stood on deck watching the lights on shore fade into 



COMFORTS ON BOARD. 3 

a far-off glare upon the glancing water, till the rain 
had drenched the upper deck and was pouring through 
the canvass in little streamlets. Quite early in the 
evening, the passengers slipped away, one by one and 
in groups, till all was quiet along the outer line. It is 
not necessary to explain the reason for this early re- 
treat, as the sea was quite rough. 

The word state-room sounds well. To the uninitiated 
it has a dignified, majestic ring, as if constructed for 
princes and potentates; but contact enlightens one. 
An oblong structure amid-ship seven feet by four, put- 
ting the figures at the stretch, Egyptian darkness inside 
except when artificially lighted, two shelves neatly fur- 
nished for sleeping purposes, a toilet corner, and the 
inventory is taken. One at a time was the order of 
exercises when retiring; but we were rocked to sleep 
before we intended it. In the morning the buoyancy 
of the merry crowd that bade farewell to land the even- 
ing before had effervesced, and the great majority were 
too flat to rise. A few forlorn figures supported them- 
selves on deck, and one here and there appeared at 
table, with blank and solemn face gazing on vacancy, 
terribly disgusted with the outlook; while from the 
state-rooms came occasional ominous sounds, as if 
there was not perfect peace behind the scenes. The 
sea was still tumbling and tossing like an angry torrent, 
and the infirmity of sea-sickness continued unabated 
all day long and increased, till the victims attained the 
limpish quality of a rag whenever the perpendicular 
was attempted. 

Another morning came and the mists began to roll 
away, food tasted better than sawdust, and we set 



4 REMINISCENCES. 

about thrusting aside the feeling that it was the sum 
and substance of foolishness to undertake the voyage. 
There was, however, a fragrance about old ocean that 
was delightful, even when she turned tormentor and 
scowled most of us to our couches to do penance for 
seeking with her such close and exclusive companion- 
ship. But in three days she smiled graciously upon 
most of the human freight, and drew them upon the deck 
of our gallant ship to watch the ever-changing billows 
and meditate upon the power and majesty and good- 
ness of God "who has measured the waters in the 
hollow of his hand," and who "sitteth upon the circle 
of the earth." How applicable seemed these words as 
they flashed upon the mind: "Who hath gathered the 
winds in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a 
garment? who hath established all the ends of the 
earth? what is his name and what his son's name, if 
thou canst tell?"- The winds, the waves, and all the 
elements are his servants and obey his commands per- 
fectly. This was the one grand elevating thought that 
became an ever-recurring solace as the nights darkened 
and the days dawned upon the waste of ocean. 

As the sea became smooth, we could sit with our 
feet on the jibboom and contemplate the circle of the 
deep, ourselves perched upon its loftiest point. The 
passengers all reappeared on deck, having donned their 
holiday faces and, with one consent, melted into social 
family relations and settled down to business. The 
ladies got out their bundles of gossip, untied them and 
exhibited their choicest pieces, and their suavity and 
confidential manner increased with the hours. They 
also unrolled several varieties of knitting, some kinds 



THE SABBATH. 5 

useful and some otherwise, and set up their stitching 
and embroidery, as if they meant to stay awhile. The 
whole contour of humanity on deck resembled Bar- 
num's happy family. If any one had any clashing 
points in her nature they did not appear. The gentle- 
men, however, were rather objects of pity. Their 
occupation had been left behind. They could not sell 
goods, nor trade horses, nor operate a bank, nor pursue 
any of the genial activities of that nature; so they just 
wandered around and talked and disputed about the 
little nothings that are apt to come up at such fruitful 
times, and watched for whales and sea-serpents. 

There were seven ministers on board, five of them 
Episcopal, and on Sabbath we had an Episcopal service 
in the morning, and after that, we four constituted our- 
selves into a family, read our Bibles "verse about," and 
stopped for frequent and profitable expositions of the 
portions read. At one P. M. of this day, while w r e 
were at luncheon, the ship gave a startling pitch, fol- 
lowed by another and another. We sought the upper 
deck and found we had sailed into the track of a recent 
storm. Looking east, the ocean seemed piled against 
the sky, and the lengthened acclivity had the appear- 
ance of a succession of hills and valleys in desperate 
conflict, and we seemed to be sailing up and down the 
inclinations. Our vessel met these great swells and 
mounted them gallantly, sometimes shipping a wave 
that washed the upper deck, and again dipping into the 
valley, as if we were to sink into the seething tumult 
to rise no more. The ride was fearful, but grand and 
sublime beyond description. At sunset the pitching 
ceased, but a new danger appeared. We were passing 



REMINISCENCES. 

the banks of Newfoundland, and a heavy fog prevailed, 
suggesting the possible presence of icebergs to stimu- 
late the interest. They are ugly things at sea, so 
Captain Robinson told us, and that we were sailing 
one hundred miles south to avoid contact of that kind. 
The passengers all seemed religiously inclined, and 
they revered the Sabbath by putting away week-day 
pleasures and generally deporting themselves well. In 
the evening of this Sabbath at the suggestion of one 
of our number, we held a most interesting prayer- 
meeting, to which all were invited. 

Monday morning we were all safe and the danger 
past. The ocean furnished a peculiar charm in the 
great expanse of water, the ever-changing blue of sky 
and sea, the swish and shock of the great waves as 
they often met in combat, and in the mighty corrugated 
swells that rolled and heaved like hills and valleys in 
convulsions. There came also at times the exhilaration 
and impetus of the far-off lands we had long desired 
to see. How insignificant we felt, facing such majesty 
and power ! 

"Who go to sea in ships and in 
Great waters trading be, 
Within the deep these men God's works 
And his great wonders see." 

Enough of life appeared upon the wild waste to give 
delightful variety. Sea gulls and a tiny little bird, 
always on the wing, escorted us out almost to mid- 
ocean. The little fairy creature, brilliant in color and 
trembling with nervous action, earned its living by 
picking crumbs that fell from the ship's pantry, often 
resting for a moment on the crest of a wave, but 



LIFE IN THE SEA. 7 

always with extended wing. Schools of porpoises 
sometimes challenged the ship for a race; and the in- 
teresting little nautilus, with sail spread, fled from the 
path of the vessel, as if its home had been invaded. 
The most exciting display of "life on the ocean wave" 
was a naval engagement that meant death by both 
parties. The combatants were two sword fishes and 
an immense whale. Our sympathies went out to the 
whale as it dealt rather mild and aimless blows with 
its forked tail, while the other two, one on either side, 
lashed their victim with their glittering white swords, 
and made the deep "boil like a pot." They sailed out 
of sight before the contest was fully decided; but the 
swords would win and not even permit an inglorious 
retreat on the part of their foe. As the day advanced 
we sailed into close quarters with a whole community 
of whales. They showed no disposition to become 
acquainted, but fell into confusion, enveloped themselves 
in showers of spray from their mast heads and fled for 
their lives, like the Syrians when they left their tents 
and their horses behind. One of these huge monsters 
of the deep, perhaps lost from his fellows, was so near 
the path of our vessel that we could almost lay our 
hands upon him. The great awkward creature seemed 
stunned for a moment, then wheeled and sped rapidly 
away, his back skimming the surface and the water 
spouting in jets from his head. His locomotion was 
very rapid, and he soon disappeared and was lost to us 
amid the waves. It was a joy to see living creatures, 
if only for the moment. Doubtless the sea is as full 
of life as the land; but life in the ocean has unlimited 
facilities for hiding itself in the numberless compart- 



8 REMINISCENCES. 

ments afforded by such a deluge of water. We would, 
no doubt, be astounded with a glimpse of them. 

The passengers were by this time very sociable, and 
exhibited their various traits of character. Each had 
a burden of sorrow or a fountain of joy all his or her 
own. The great world was here in miniature. There 
were the funny man with comic song and jest, the mute 
man with the outgoings of his soul in pantomime, the 
poet, the artist and the elocutionist. These, with their 
promising talents, differing in position but equal in 
degree, often gave us specimens of progress. Some 
of the participants in this species of entertainment 
were quite in the bud and in the bloom of life. "Briar 
Rose" was rendered by as sweet a girl "as e'er drew 
breath," and the mute never refused to give us one of 
his admirable and mirth-provoking stories. Our 
Captain was an English gentleman, and that means 
considerable. Always polite and thoughtful, he was 
never officious, nor did he indulge in offensive favorite- 
ism. He labored for the enjoyment and well-being of 
all the passengers. His home had been on the sea for 
twenty-seven years, and he had never lost a vessel. 

When we had been out about nine days, he proposed 
to make use of the diversity of talent on board, and 
organized for an entertainment to be given on deck 
the next evening. A committee of arrangements was 
appointed, a program made out and the performers 
notified. As the evening approached the sailors en- 
closed a large space with canvass, decorated it with an 
array of lights, mounted a platform and filled the arena 
with rows of chairs. The gathering was very similar 
to such scenes on land; scenes in which we in youthful 



AMUSEMENTS. 9 

days were one of the actors. At the hour, the ladies 
put on their gayest attire and, accompanied by hus- 
band or gallant, captured en route, filed in at different 
times and chatted till the curtain lifted. During a 
recess in the affair a collection was lifted for the Sailors' 
Orphans' Home in Liverpool. At that time there was 
a record of thirty-three thousand sailors that sleep in 
the sea. 

We all felt happy over this little episode, and we all 
moved a little closer together after it and became very 
sympathetic. We were cut off from the outside world. 
Every sort of calamity might befall our homes and 
surroundings, but not a whisper of it could reach 
us; we were deaf to telegrams and annoyances of that 
kind. Our business relations and all our affairs might 
be desolating enough, but we did not know it. We 
had a right to assume that all was well and be content. 
So should God's children'always feel. They have a 
right to assume that all is well and will be well. They 
have the promises that Christ bears their burdens and 
carries their sorrows. They do not know the future. 
We did not know anything outside of our little com- 
munity, and we cheered one another and in faith rolled 
away all care. 

A second Sabbath came and went as did the previous 
one; and in the gray dawn of the second Monday 
morning, the purpling hills and cliffs of Ireland greeted 
us with gladness in the freshness of this Green Isle of 
the sea. The scene thrills the senses yet with strange 
intensity, as we remember how the broad sunlight 
crept over sea and land and brought into bold relief a 
most resplendent setting of cottages, white as a snow 



IO REMINISCENCES. 

drift, and fields of grain and verdure, softened into a 
rare mosaic. Ireland played " bo-peep" with us on one 
side, and the chalky cliffs of Wales attracted us on the 
other all the way through St. George's Channel, till 
we entered the Irish sea, when we were soon sailing 
up the Mersey. 

On the morning of the Fourth of July, our natal day, 
we went on shore at Liverpool. We kept our demon- 
strations in our own bosoms from instincts of politeness, 
and entered the custom house by way of introduction 
to a foreign land. The officer of this department sat- 
isfied himself that we carried neither tobacco, firearms 
nor British books reprinted in the United States, and 
then permitted us to go on our way. Others did not 
fare so well. They carried some one or other of these 
contraband articles, and their dry goods were all ex- 
posed and subjected to the most searching surveillance. 
The duties of the custom house were so tedious, as we 
had to wait our turn, that when we reached the outside, 
we did not indulge in a particle of gushing, but we just 
walked decently along as if we were used to English 
streets and English atmosphere. Still the gratification 
was immense and as acute as a surprise, but we were 
careful to keep our feelings from the English, lest they 
should vaunt and overvalue themselves. We were fond 
of England and proud of her, but thought it wise to 
hold some things in reserve till we got better acquainted. 

It was not in our plan to tarry long in Liverpool; 
so, after a few unimportant purchases just to fix it in 
our minds that we had been there, we took the train 
for the heart of this fair domain, through a region of 
great beauty — of bloom and color and thrift that re- 



ON THE TRAIN. I I 

sembled a fruitful and neatly kept garden. There was 
not a misplaced splint, not a ragged edge to any enclo- 
sure, not a broken limb to any tree, not a tangled, 
unkempt hedge, nor anything to be seen but that 
which spoke of refined and cultivated care. The cosy 
little carriages of the train invited sociability among 
the passengers, and our English fellow-travelers during 
this ride were very communicative as well as interested 
in the pieces of intelligence we gave them in exchange 
for their civility. The railroad carriages are divided 
into separate apartments, and each one holds a handful 
of passengers, but they do not seem dangerous and 
giant-like as ours do. The doors of these playful little 
cars shut with a click, and the inmates are imprisoned 
till they arrive at the next station. 

We had to keep our wits sharpened to appear 
equal to the occasion, so as not to entail breaches of 
etiquette on our native land. One of the proprieties 
that troubled us was our place at the stations. The 
stations or depots were divided into first, second and 
third class, and we were almost certain to forget and 
find ourselves in the wrong one. The railways are 
kept in complete order. All the embankments are 
sodded and smooth as a lawn. The crossings at the 
stations are carefully guarded, passengers being com- 
pelled under heavy penalties to cross the track, where 
crossing is desired, over an elevated way. 

As we journeyed we frequently came in sight of 
handsome parks studded with grand old trees, in some 
cases almost concealing with their strong, thick-set 
arms some noble country-seat or castle whose Island 
history may have commenced near the Christian era. 



1 2 REMINISCENCES. 

The real history of England begins with Julius 
Caesar; all previous history is more or less fabulous. 
The people, however, were not mere savages when the 
Romans entered the Island before the Christian era. 
They practiced many of the arts of life ; mining and 
smelting their native tin for different purposes, and 
raising cattle and cultivating cereals. They were navi- 
gators, sailing far from home and over tempestuous 
seas. They were also brave and obedient to proper 
authority. They were divided into tribes, and their 
religion was Druidism. Such were the conditions of 
the people the Romans found. In most aspects they 
were such a people as Europeans found when they 
entered America. Such people do not replenish a land 
nor subdue it to their use. The Romans introduced a 
higher civilization, and the springs of national life were 
stirred by the mixture of new blood with the blood 
of the nation itself. Mighty changes followed, and 
the tribal chiefs of the whole province were merged 
into one national ruler. Egbert, an exile from Kent 
at the court of Charlemagne, became a humble pupil 
and follower of the great conqueror. The young Eng- 
lishman gained the esteem of his teachers, and when 
he returned to his native land, Charlemagne gave him 
his own sword as a parting gift; but he had imparted 
to him during his stay something infinitely better; he 
had taught him how to organize society. Egbert came 
back to England as king of Wessex,and during a reign 
of thirty-six years he consolidated authority and took 
the title of King of all England. Many and fierce were 
the struggles for life that followed, until the united 
province became the power she is to-day. Trials de- 



TRUE PROGRESS. I 3 

velop character, and she has had a goodly share ; but 
from each period of her wrestling she has risen stronger 
than before. No nation has ever had a steadier growth 
in all that makes a nation noble and strong. The aim 
has been steady, the object has been kept ever in view 
and the certainty of reaching the object is contained 
in that chart to which England, more than any other 
modern nation, has given heed for generations and for 
centuries. 



14 REMINISCENCES. 



II. 

In the waning of the afternoon we came into War- 
wickshire, the very " Heart of Merrie England." We 
had previously resolved that when we came to this 
garden spot, we would take it in somewhat leisurely, 
much of it on foot, that we might catch the spirit of 
its mysterious beauty. There are villages and hamlets 
and peaceful country life amid bright green trees, lovely 
meadows and rich pasture fields. Besides, there is the 
halo of stirring life gone long ago, buried down deep 
in the past, and yet lingering in old-time spots, in 
quaint, lowly cottages with little, narrow, peaked 
windows peeping out from the dust of ages, and en- 
throned as well in castle hall and tower, moat and 
drawbridge. 

After a little airing at Rugby with its memory of 
"Tom Brown's School-days," we passed on and spent 
the night at Guernsey Hotel, a temperance house in 
Leamington. In every feature this establishment was 
the perfection of neatness, which can be applied to the 
whole city, the streets and door-yards being as clean 
and solid as a polished floor. The city has a popula- 
tion of twenty-two thousand, and is celebrated for its 
mineral waters. It is indeed a great attraction as a 
watering place. The "Royal Spa" received its name 
when Queen Victoria ascended the throne, and since 



LEAMINGTON. 1 5 

then it has become the delightful health resort it is to- 
day. I do not mean that the place is loud and gaudy 
and vulgar, but, on the contrary, very genteel and 
quiet and exquisite in taste. Many of the private 
houses are inside a high stone wail, with the name of 
the family on the gate. There is an air of exclusive- 
ness and modesty grateful to those who enjoy an 
unobtrusive life removed from the glare of the multi- 
tude. 

Very many modern mansions in America rival and 
even greatly surpass these homes in grandeur and dis- 
play, but it will take long years to give them the lustre 
of generations, a lustre that brightens with years. To 
remind us that we were near Kenilworth, there were 
such names on the close-fitting gates as "Robsart 
Place" and "Leicester House." These houses were 
planted back from the street and, where a view could 
be obtained, embowered in rare plants and clinging 
vines. The old church of St. Paul is an interesting 
relic with its well-kept, ancient graveyard attached, 
enclosed with most beautiful lime trees, their branches 
interwoven so as to make a continuous enclosure. The 
" Royal Spa" sends out a gush of health-giving waters, 
and there are a number of other perennial fountains, 
some saline and others sulphuretted saline. They are 
near the river Learn, upon which the city is situated, 
and upon whose sloping banks there is a handsome 
park. 

The ancient town of Warwick, the first Parliamentary 
Borough in the kingdom, is two miles away, and thither 
we went, making the journey on the top of a tram-car, 
which is just a long coach moving on a tramway and 



1 8 REMINISCENCES. 

Elizabeth's ambitious favorite, Robert Dudley, Earl of 
Leicester. The crypt contains the ashes of the Earls 
of Warwick since the founding of their house, and the 
stone floor of the church is a paving of gravestones, 
the inscriptions almost entirely erased with the march 
of centuries. It is a beautiful building, and one loves 
to linger and study it; but these fine buildings are not 
essential to Christianity; they are rather a mark of a 
corrupt Christianity and were reared in corrupt times. 
The early Christians had none. They worshiped on 
the hillsides, in the forests, in the caves, in the cata- 
combs, and conserved a pure gospel. The Scottish 
Reformers had none; and where can we go for a more 
sublime conception of the love of God in Christ than 
to those pure times? 

It was not the handsome mediaeval church nor the 
ancient gateway that drew us to the town of Warwick. 
There was another vision of beauty and interest in 
reserve that hastened our steps and brought the reali- 
zation of many a day-dream. The stately towers, the 
lofty turrets, the frowning battlements and the spacious 
halls of Warwick Castle, the best preserved building 
of its kind in the Brittish Isles, had been the object of 
many desires awakened long ago. Now the vision 
was fruition as we stepped inside the ponderous gate- 
way which, with the high, solid stone wall, shuts out 
all obtrusiveness. 

The classic Avon and a deep moat, now dry, sur- 
round the entire grounds inside this heavy stone wall. 
The approach to the castle from the outer gate is by a 
broad, winding road cut out of the solid rock, over- 
arched by the branches of a wilderness of trees. The 



A GRAND RELIC. 19 

rocky sides of this roadway are draped and festooned 
with ivy and creeping plants. There are sudden bends 
and sharp angles made by the architect in constructing 
the road. Some of them would conceal a handful of 
stalwart warriors in helmet, steel and claymore, who, 
having the advantage of position, could hew down a 
hundred assailants and keep the rest at bay. The idea 
of defense to the death, no doubt, was in the mind of 
the architect. This rock-bound road continues about 
four hundred feet, when it turns to meet two massive, 
fortified towers and an embattled wall, in the centre of 
which is the gate into the inner court. This gate is 
highly ornamented and flanked by towers connected 
by an arch, while creeping everywhere over it are the 
tendrils and glossy leaves of the English ivy. 

The gate is still guarded by the portcullis, a relic of 
feudal days, and it holds in possession many memories 
of storm and siege, of prison house, of death and de- 
spair. Within the inner court the scene that met our 
gaze was bewildering. The massive stone structure, 
"majestic in the moss of time," stands upon a rocky 
knoll forty feet high, the base of which is swept by the 
Avon. Masses of foliage from rare old trees give 
kindly welcome, although they shut out much of the 
light of day, while beautiful plants and graceful shrubs 
cluster in artistic knots and borders, and the modest 
daisy stars every foot-fall, making glad the landscape 
to prince and peasant. History tells us that Ethelfleda, 
daughter of Alfred the Great, built on this spot a keep, 
in modern parlance a prison or dungeon, in 915, and 
hints that a fortress was erected here at the Roman 
invasion. It became an important fortress about that 



20 REMINISCENCES. 

time, and although frequently damaged by assault, it 
has always risen again stronger than ever. 

Early in the fifteenth century, the eldest son of the 
Earl of Salisbury married Anne, the only child of 
Richard de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. By this 
marriage he obtained the broad lands of the Warwick 
family, took their name and became a prominent figure 
in history during the dark days of the civil war of the 
Roses and was in many a sanguinary conflict. From 
that period the Earls of Warwick have been conspicu- 
ous, and their influence in later times has fostered 
literature and the fine arts. Some pieces of art inside 
and shown to visitors are not dnly costly, but of ex- 
quisite workmanship. The present Earl of Warwick 
is said to be a gentleman in the true sense of the word, 
benevolent, cultured and unambitious. He permits 
the state apartments of this castle, where he resides 
part of the year, to be opened to visitors during six 
days of the week. The Sabbath is excepted. This 
permission was quite an event to us, and the day was 
an ideal one viewed from all points of the compass. 

From the outer court we entered the great hall, 
sixty feet long by forty-two wide and twenty-six feet 
high. The floor is bare, but highly polished, and the 
walls are thickly hung with the armorial trappings of 
the heroes of war and of the chase. The floor has a 
number of mounted figures in sheeted armor that must 
have puzzled the wearer when called to mount or dis- 
mount or to perform any of the operations that require 
a free hand. The punch-bowl of the olden times 
stands on a pedestal in this room and would hold a 
hogshead of the vile stuff. When this lordly hall gave 



A SCENE OF BEAUTY. 21 

princely entertainment in days of yore, most probably 
this bowl was brimming full, and so, doubtless, were 
the courtly visitors. 

We stood at the wide window and looked out upon 
a scene of enchanting loveliness. The Avon was trill- 
ing and murmuring forty feet below, clasping the 
remains of an old mill jutting from the castle rock, 
while bush and shrub and long branches of ivy clung 
to the rocks and were mirrored in the clear water. A 
giant tree, a cedar of Lebanon dating from the Cru- 
sades, lifted its great glistening arms adorned with the 
richest dark green foliage we had ever seen, and rested 
them lovingly against the heavy walls of the castle, as 
if they had been sworn friends for hundreds of years. 
My heart went out to this tree, and I wanted to just 
touch it with my fingers; but I would have been sus- 
pected for attempting what was forbidden ; so I lingered 
in silent admiration as a fragrant odor from the land 
of milk and honey came up from its thick boughs. 
Palestine, the birth-place of our Christianity, and 
England, its cradle, had here joined hands in loving 
embrace. 

We followed on through the Red Drawing-room, the 
Cedar Drawing-room, the Gilt Drawing-room, and a 
host of other rooms and corridors, all adorned in hand- 
some style with costly furnishing in old and rare 
paintings, in antique and curiously carved furniture, 
much of it inlaid with pearl. There were also rare 
pieces of art of priceless value to the owner. The 
State Bed-room is hung with beautiful tapestry, and 
the bed hangings are of rich crimson velvet. Queen 
Victoria, while making a tour of the country in 1858, 



22 REMINISCENCES. 

visited this castle and occupied this bed-chamber. 

Outside once more there confronts the visitor the 
great keep, with battlemented walls. The more modern 
and inhabited parts of the castle are ranged in a semi- 
circle and include the servants' rooms, the stables and 
all the paraphernalia of an old and noble house. This 
curving line of great buildings looks out upon a smooth, 
velvety lawn, starred with daisies and bordered with 
beautiful trees. Peacocks and game fowls scampered 
over the dainty bit of pasture and eyed us with a saucy 
air, as if saying, We are not plebian. In the outer 
court there was an extensive park. There were flower 
plots and winding walks, there were rustic bridges and 
bowers of fairy beauty and long, magnificent drives, 
sweeping through a densely wooded park, many of the 
trees being cedars of Lebanon, their dark green tufted 
tops making a most beautiful setting amid the paler 
green of elm and beech, sugar, oak and sycamore. We 
came suddenly upon a large flower plot, the central 
piece being, the Warwick Vase. This fine specimen 
was discovered in a lake at Tivoli, purchased by the 
the present Earl's grandfather and placed here. It is 
of white marble and would hold one hundred and 
sixty-one gallons of water. The idea of vastness and 
strength prevails all around, although the garniture is 
very beautiful and lends enchantment to the scene. 
Solomon, the wisest of men, has painted a more gor- 
geous scene and written beneath, ''Behold, all is vanity 
and vexation of spirit." 

Visitors to the heart of "Merrie England" must not 
forget to visit Guy's Cliffe, two miles distant from 
Warwick Castle and said to be connected with it by a 



GUY'S CLIFFE. 23 

subterranean passage. It is a place of great antiquarian 
celebrity, much older than Warwick Castle, beiug 
founded by Guy, first Earl of Warwick, and at the 
close of his life converted into a religious house. The 
redoubtable Guy\ Earl of W T arwick, was a veritable 
son of Anak, as we judge from his monstrous sword, 
shield, helmet and breastplate exhibited in the Porter's 
Lodge at the Castle gate. The walk to Guy's Cliffe 
from the town of Warwick is a charming one. It was 
a fair sample of a rural scene in England. The hay- 
makers were afield, the hay sending out a delicious 
odor, the hedge rows were tidy and sweet, the pasture 
fields soft and wavy and an immense private park on 
one side of the way, thickly set with noble trees, gave 
us the songs of birds and the busy hum of insect life 
and industry. Wild roses in full flower clambered here 
and there, burgamot scented the air, and the soft 
crimped leaves of the stinging nettle beguiled us into 
a touch for which we paid the penalty. 

The pretentious rural life of all England, and indeed 
of all Britain, is hidden inside high, heavy stone walls, 
clasped with a latticed gate, through which such eager 
visitors as we may view the lovely scenes afar off. The 
venerable mansion at Guy's Cliffe is reached by an 
avenue of overaching elms in perfect order as to neat- 
ness and trim, and so dense as to conceal all of this 
great house, except part of the front. The present 
incumbent of this princely seat is a lady of some sixty 
years. She has not dared to enter the marriage rela- 
tion because, forsooth, her title and estate would be 
forfeited should she choose her lord out of her family 
line, and in that line there has not been found a mate 



24 REMINISCENCES. 

for her; so this fair scion of a noble house grasps her 
titles, her lands, her keys and, perchance, her happiness 
and remains mistress of the situation. 

As a rule, tourists are not admitted to the houses 
and grounds of the nobility when the occupants are at 
home. This being the case, disappointment settled 
upon our faces, until we were directed into a by-way, 
where the stately mansion stood out in all its glory. 
We sat down by the side of a pool of the Avon where 
swans were sporting and in the shadow of an old 
Saxon mill of fabulous age, very picturesque and in- 
teresting; and we picked up bits of current history 
from an English farmer and his wife who were rusti- 
cating here for a day after the harvest toil. The 
courtyard of this noble house is hollowed out of the 
solid rock. The house itself rises out of part of the 
same rock high above the river Avon, and the walls 
of some of the apartments are nothing less than parts 
of this great perpendicular rock. Under the edifice 
and at the sides of it are several caverns and cells hol- 
lowed out in mediaeval times for hiding places, mayhap, 
but most probably dungeon walls for victims of the 
Roman Catholic Church. All these caverns are con- 
nected with the chapel by subterranean passages, 
which of itself is very suggestive of thumbscrews and 
the rack. The invincible Guy himself is said to have 
spent the last years of his misspent life as a hermit in 
one of these cells on penance duty, and in it the giant 
sleeps his last sleep along with his countess. 

Strong and deep within every fibre of our nature is 
the principle that we are offenders, that we deserve 
only wrath and displeasure, and that the wrath is 



THE GREAT QUESTION. 2$ 

something fearful, something more than humanity can 
bear. Hence in all ages there has existed a disposition 
to supplicate, to endeavor to please the Being offended. 
This is the underlying principle in every form of idol- 
atry. The Jews made broad their phylacteries when 
Christ was on earth. The Roman Catholics multiply 
their penances and Protestants heap up a treasure of 
good works, too, which at the great day will prove but 
"wood, hay and stubble," because the Lord is not in 
any of them. " How shall man be just with God?" is 
the question. Nothing can be of greater moment, nor 
of more solemn import. Unassisted by revelation and 
the light it sheds, we are undone. Reason, philosophy, 
science give no hope; they only lead to darkness for- 
ever; but the true light shines in the Word, and 
justification through the merits of Christ is the only 
way to eternal life. In the justified and adopted child 
of God, good works flow from union to Christ, and are 
a well-pleasing sacrifice. They are not in any sense 
meritorious, nor in any sense a purchase of favor, but 
are the grateful outflow of a heart touched with fire 
from off God's holy altar. Pitiful and sordid indeed 
are all penance performances wherever found. 

We sat and thought, and we walked and thought, as 
we strayed back to our hotel in Leamington. We could 
almost feel the tremor of those mighty throes that 
ushered in the Reformation from Popery. How inspir- 
iting the convulsion that loosened the prison doors for 
the poor captives in bondage to Rome and said, 
"Look unto me and be ye saved!" And will we fit 
up those prison walls anew and get out the bolts and 
bars? There is reason to fear we will. "Oh, foolish 



26 REMINISCENCES. 

and slow of heart to believe!" We repeat our errors 
continually. 

Our way led us into glimpses of farm-life. Cattle, 
fat and well-tended, grazed in the fields, or stood con- 
tentedly in the shadow of some great oak tree. A tree 
is valued in Britain. The landscape is everywhere 
brightened with perhaps a profusion of trees; at least 
an American farmer would think so, grudging, no 
doubt, the room it subtracted from bread-winning. 
But Englishmen have their way, and it seems as 
though it is to be their way. 

The farm-houses were not fine, but comfortable, with 
a savor of old-fashioned hospitality in the wide porches, 
with their air of quiet and rest, and in the dreaminess 
under the English walnut trees that flourished on the 
lawns. Leamington has burst its boundaries and has 
very handsome suburban residences, some of them of 
great beauty and taste. Everywhere there was a pro- 
fusion of flowers kept with great care. The rose, the 
emblem of England, was indeed a royal beauty. 

Our visit would have been incomplete without a 
ramble to Kenilworth, the once proud home of Robert 
Dudley, Earl of Leicester. The story of his young 
wife, Amy Robsart, is so pathetic and so interwoven 
with the existence of Kenilworth that the name of the 
one calls up the other. The stately ruins of this castle 
are on an elevated rocky site commanding a wide view 
of the country around. It was erected in the reign of 
Henry I., and when Queen Elizabeth came to the 
throne, was presented to Robert Dudley, Earl of Lei- 
cester. The whole estate is now the property of the 
Earl of Clarendon, who carefully preserves this relic so 



KENILWORTH. 2/ 

replete with interest. The outer wall of the gigantic 
structure once enclosed seven acres, a part of which 
was a pleasure garden, with avenues and grottoes. In 
the centre of this plot stands the lordly castle, a most 
picturesque ruin. Vast portions of the ancient pile 
still stand, but deserted, dismantled, sinking slowly but 
surely into dust. It is departed grandeur, a sad re- 
minder of the transitory nature of human greatness. 
It is but a wind that passeth and shall no more be 
known. 

The Leicester Gate-house is in excellent preserva- 
tion, four stories high, with beautifully carved windows, 
and flanked on each side by octagonal towers. There 
are other towers, innumerable and spacious halls 
and chambers and drawing-rooms in one mass. The 
The Great Hall measures ninety feet by forty-five. 
This magnificent apartment still shows the tracery of 
exquisite workmanship. The great window that must 
have shed a flood of soft light upon this hall is a marvel 
in delicate and fancy shaping. One corner of this 
window is gone. The floor of the hall has disappeared 
in the mould beneath, and here and there the stones 
are crumbling and mingling with the gray and vener- 
able tints of old age. In one compact whole, there 
are broken arches and tottering stairways and lofty 
towers and desolate chambers and long, tattered cor- 
ridors still keeping their identity in the vastness of the 
princely fabric. The decay is prolonged by the mas- 
siveness and strength of the entire work. The old 
builders wrought well. They spared neither time nor 
pains. They first made an outer casing of good stone, 
filling in the space with rubble stones and pouring 



28 REMINISCENCES. 

over it molten cement which when cold was a solid 
mass of resistless masonry. 

The keep, the citadel of the castle called Caesar's 
tower, is among the most perfect parts of the ruin. 
Adjoining it are three kitchens. Their use can only 
be deciphered by certain marks; and beyond these is 
Mervyn's Tower, said to be the prison of Amy Rob- 
sart, Countess of Leicester. From the top of this a 
fine view of the country is obtained. The landscape 
is undulating, quiet and lovely. The purple haze of 
this perfect day enriched the horizon, and the warm 
sunlight photographed the woods and fields, the silvery 
brooks and the far-off homes and villages with indelible 
accuracy. Over the mouldering stone work there are 
creeping vines and ivy and tufts of flowering plants 
that relieve the desolation, and the daisies flourish and 
bloom in the courtyard and lift their modest heads in 
every nook, while here and there are fine old trees and 
among them beautiful holly trees. 

The gateway constructed for Queen Elizabeth is still 
intact, and we passed under the arch made for the regal 
lady. The Earl of Leicester possessed this goodly 
castle of Elizabeth's queenly bounty, but the gift, along 
with other favors, aroused such vaulting ambition as 
wrecked an unscrupulous man. The Earl would be 
grateful to his Queen; hence he would have her visit 
Kenilvvorth and see the ordering of his abode. He 
spent £60,000 in enlarging the castle and improving 
the grounds, and prepared for entertaining the Queen 
in a style of splendor and magnificence unknown in 
modern times. The Queen loved attention and display 
and unwittingly smiled upon the adulation and homage 



ROYAL FEASTING. 29 

laid at her feet by the lordly owner of Kenilworth. It 
was innocent gratitude she thought, no doubt, for he 
had a wife, the gentle, confiding and high-born daugh- 
ter of Sir Hugh Robsart, whom the Queen had never 
seen. By this visit she hoped to meet her in her own 
stately halls. The Earl of Leicester was consumed by 
other thoughts. Dark intrigues and wicked purposes 
were behind the scenes in his mind. He would push 
his countess out of the way by foul means and be the 
husband of Queen Elizabeth. The thought grew, nur- 
tured by an ungodly ambition, and when the Queen 
rode with her cavalcade along the wide avenue con- 
structed for her alone and over the deep moat that 
bounds the castle on two sides into the courtyard, the 
Earl seemed about to pluck the flower of English 
royalty. 

For seventeen days the Queen, the ladies of her 
court, thirty-one barons with wives and daughters, and 
four hundred servants were feasted and entertained in 
the chase, in sports, in music and good cheer of the 
most costly kind. No one had ever seen such mag- 
nificence. Courtly ladies in handsome silks and laces, 
in glittering jewels and rich embroidery roamed with 
the freedom of the olden time and laughed and jested 
and sported like other specimens of humanity. The 
whole scene is suggested by the grandeur of the ruin. 
The sequel shows that Queen Elizabeth died a virgin 
queen, her royal consort the English nation, and Rob- 
ert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, sleeps beside his third 
countess, Lettuce, in the old church in Warwick. 
England's Queen was too sagacious, too wise and too 
stern in her moral integrity to look with the slightest 



30 REMINISCENCES. 

favor upon the Earl's revolting scheme. During this 
feast she inquired for the wife of his youth, and the 
Earl evaded the question. She songht for her, and 
when the monstrous iniquity was revealed, she de- 
throned her favorite; but her misplaced confidence 
hung like a shadow over her princely head till she lay 
down for her last sleep. 

Cromwell reduced this castle, dismounted the towers, 
drained the moat, destroyed its beautiful walks and 
grottoes and rooted out its pleasant places. He then 
divided the great estate among his followers. But 
when the Stuarts were restored, Charles II. gave it to 
an ancestor of the present Earl of Clarendon. We left 
the ruin with chastened feelings. Peering into the dark 
wilderness of solemn yew trees that flanked the ap- 
proach to the castle gate, one could hear a murmuring 
among the soft fringes of verdure that swayed from 
the long branches, like a dirge over departed glory. 
Almost in silence we walked back to the village. The 
lesson was too deep, too overwhelming for words. We 
wanted it for instruction. We wanted it for a beacon 
to be a signal guard against all earthly ambitions, and 
to say to them, "These rocks mean certain death. 
They are a putrifying graveyard that sends forth 
nothing but an unsavory odor." 

We would have been delighted to return to Kenil- 
worth at night to visit it by moonlight, as many parties 
were doing, The stillness of night and the soft, silver 
light of the moon in desolate balls and towers call 
forth sounds strangely human. At such times the 
wierd mysteries and memories of days that are gone 
steal back into the heart, unlock its fountains and hold 



AN OLD CITY. 3 1 

up to view all we have ever been. Such reflections are 
not useless. 

Before taking the train for London, we spent a few 
hours in the hoary city of Coventry, situated almost 
in the center of Warwickshire. It is thought to have 
been built by the ancient Britons, and if its narrow, 
crooked streets, almost like footpaths, and its quaint 
little houses reminding one of toys in the shop windows 
are any indication of such remote origin, Coventry 
certainly can claim the honor. If there is, or ever has 
been, comfort in these little cells of houses, it is not 
apparent now. There is shelter in them, possibly 
warm shelter; and we must not forget the age that 
produced them. It is recorded that in 1096, when the 
Danes invaded England, they destroyed a religious 
establishment here. The iniquity that afterward ran 
riot in the Roman Catholic Church was then in its 
formative state, and these little closets may have 
housed many that made them Bethels, trysting places 
for their Lord and Saviour. In those days wants were 
very simple, and the sentiment suited their state, 

"Man wants but little here below, 
Nor wants that little long." 

These houses are built on the street, the outline of 
the front twisting as the street does, and not a break 
in the line, neither alley nor side entrance to relieve 
the monotony. However, the monotony is broken by 
each abode differing in form and feature. A brick 
dwelling is sandwiched between two stone ones, and 
the next series may be a mixture of materials, being 
built from what was left of the other three, and so on 



32 REMINISCENCES. 

throughout the long line. Dirty, bare-footed children 
played in the street, a host in themselves, especially of 
ugly ideas, and brazen-faced, bare-footed women stood 
in the doorways and peeped from the little windows. 
The stone sills and floors were worn to the socket by 
the feet of many generations. We seemed to disturb 
their lazy, animal quiet by hastily walking along the 
path or street about ten feet between the solid rows; 
for the women crowded the doorways and gazed, and 
villainous looking men shook themselves and followed 
us suspiciously. Our visit was a sort of raid to them 
and their attitude was defiance. But Coventry has a 
new and beautiful part over against this dolor and dirt, 
so clean and handsome, it seems like another hemi- 
sphere. The various manufactures of Coventry are 
celebrated, and the old part is in the rear. 



IN LONDON. 33 



III. 

In London! We hardly knew it, we were so occu- 
pied with the inconsiderable affair of finding our 
baggage that had preceded us some days. We got 
down from our dignity and fumed about the driver of 
our cab and said he was superlatively stupid because 
he could not at once find our quiet hotel in great 
London. He was patient, though, having been steady- 
ing himself with a glass or two. But it took some of 
the poetry out of London to be driven hither and 
thither with frequent halts to inquire for Tranter's 
Hotel, Bridgewater Square. Had our baggage been 
at our feet and the ride without incident, our ideas 
might have soared with great advantage to our litera- 
ture. 

Our hotel was situated within the walls and gates 
and bars of the old Roman city. We were just where 
we wanted to be, and when we entered the door, one 
of the first things that confronted us was our baggage. 
But catch us admitting for a moment that there was as 
good order in transmitting baggage in England as in 
America. No! we stuck to it that Brother Jonathan 
could beat the combined world in everything, even in 
the ingenious matter of boasting about it. 

The most striking thing in London is the general 
immensity, the miles and miles of housetops and via- 
3 



34 REMINISCENCES. 

ducts and the network of streets and dark alley-ways, 
all of which produced a feeling of loneliness amounting 
almost to fear. Think of a corporate city of five 
millions each one of whom must have something to 
eat and wear and a few square feet to sleep upon at 
night! The abodes generally must be swarming hives 
and the streets a teeming mass, outside of working 
hours. Our quarters were comfortable, and after a 
few ludicrous mistakes, (such as rising in the morning 
at six, expecting to breakfast at seven, before even 
London crickets were aroused from slumber,) we took 
on London life quite gracefully. Ten in the morning 
is the hour for opening business. At nine a few pedes- 
trians were astir on the streets, which were as clean as 
a floor, having been carefully swept during the night. 
The old adage, "The early bird catches the worm," is 
meaningless in London. However, we were greatly 
helped in sight-seeing in having an intimate friend, 
Prof. Ormsby, resident in the city; and soon High 
Holborn became familiar and Piccadilly interesting, as 
we sat at the edge of Hyde Park and watched the 
ceaseless flow of life in splendid outfit of carriage and 
crest roll leisurely along this wide street. Nobody 
hurries in London; it is not genteel. The side of Pic- 
cadilly opposite Hyde Park is a succession of residences, 
the homes of the nobility. To us they were strikingly 
plain and unpretending in architecture. There was 
nothing of the swell outlines of American moneyocracy. 
There was dignity, though, even in the buildings and 
carefully preserved age ; for the architecture was not 
modern; and everywhere there was an air of seclusion 
and retirement and gentle dignity that was refreshing. 



A MIXED POPULATION. 35 

This street is very long and ample. Hyde Park is a 
tramping ground for hosts of humanity and cannot, 
therefore, be kept in fine order as to avsnues and 
flowers. Looking at the busy life here, we realized 
that the great city shelters innumerable races. It is 
an epitome of the whole world, a collection of many 
wholes. London must do an enormous amount of 
work; she is forced to do it to keep herself alive. 
There is much ugliness to be seen, many filthy rook- 
eries that have to be left out in order to have a genial 
glow on the picture. The notes that strike most im- 
pressively sound out from the human mills that grind 
along her network of arteries and keep things moving. 
Often there are mournful cadences and discordant 
trills that may well enlist the sympathies and the ener- 
gies of those whose hearts are yet tender. "An ounce 
of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Do we 
remember this when we sow carelessly in our families? 
when we spare the rod? when we foster pride? when 
we wink at deception? when we permit laziness and 
prodigality? Do we remember this when we add to 
the simple appointments of New Testament worship? 
when we take slice after slice from the sanctity of the 
holy Sabbath, and when we disregard our solemn 
covenant engagements to honor our profession by 
living up to its requirements? I am convinced we do 
not, and that here lurks the poison that has engendered 
and still feeds the festering sore, not only in London, 
but all over our own broad land. The cure for Israel's 
idolatry was an irksome captivity of seventy years. 
God will send judgments for violation of his laws, and 
we ought to discern it in the fruitage we are seeing 



36 REMINISCENCES. 

• 

now in the violation of the laws of God, and get back 
to the simplicity of true gospel worship. Then the 
poor and the depraved will feel at home in places of 
worship, and they will feel that touch of humanity that 
vibrates the heart strings. A pure worship is a mighty 
leveler. It is in the balm in Gilead. 

Near our hotel was St. Giles' church, with an old 
graveyard attached. We entered this church through 
Cripple Gate to see the resting places of John Milton 
and Rev. John Foxe, author of Foxe's "Book of Mar- 
tyrs," as also to see the church in which Cromwell was 
married. One side of this church and a portion of the 
old Roman wall stand side by side. The old wall is 
oj" Ragstone and large Roman bricks. There are 
tombs inserted in the wall and standing at its base, 
with ivy creeping over them, the whole enclosed in a 
strong iron railing. 

We shall select but a few of the interesting places in 
London and notice them briefly, because the story has 
been so often told. St. Paul's Cathedral is in the 
midst of a graveyard. Indeed it is a resting place 
itself for a host of noble sleepers. The building is 
stately and imposing outside and the inside is magnifi- 
cent. It overpowers and captivates with its vastness, 
its gorgeousness, its symmetry, its strength, shadow- 
ing every part in the perfect harmony of the whole. 
While contemplating its immensity, we were reminded 
of Sydney Smith's witticism when the attempt was 
made to introduce artificial heat into the Cathedral: 
"You might as well attempt to warm the whole 
County of Essex." 

The most striking portion is beneath the great dome, 



ST, PAULS. 



37 



which is supported by eight immense piers, each forty 
feet wide, and the dome is one hundred and forty feet 
in diameter. At the base of the dome is the whisper- 
ing gallery ; the faintest whisper articulated close to the 
wall being distinctly intelligible at the opposite side. 
This dome towers three hundred and sixty-five feet 
above the floor of the cathedral. From the top those 
on the street below resembled a colony of Liliputians 
scampering hither and thither. The length of the 
structure from the front portico to the farther end is 
five hundred and ten feet. The shape is a Latin cross, 
the breadth of the cross being two hundred and 
eighty-two feet. The floor is of marble in mosaic, and 
the sides and pillars are richly ornamented. The 
transepts and aisles are studded with handsome tombs 
to perpetuate the memory of a long line of England's 
heroic dead, whose lives have ennobled her and lifted 
her to a proud place among the nations of the earth. 
The most impressive design to us was the memorial 
of Sir John Moore, the youthful Scottish hero who in 
the moment of victory fell on the field of Corunna in 
Spain. He is represented as having received his death 
wound, and the fallen figure is being borne away by 
two of his men. They "raised not a stone," they 
"carved not a line" on that distant field; but the 
memory of the gallant officer is green and fresh here. 
The work is of Parian marble and of exquisite work- 
manship. 

As a grand monument, St. Paul's is intensely inter- 
esting, but as a place of worship, cold and sad. While 
we were viewing the interesting tombs, the afternoon 
service on Saturday began, with pomp and circum- 



38 REMINISCENCES. 

stance, with peals of two great organs, the echoes 
answered by thirty boys with white surplices and 
wands in their hands. Those who as an audience 
engaged in the worship did not exceed twenty-five. 
They were far outnumbered by those on dress parade 
who were conducting the worship. It is sufficient to 
say that the attempt to worship rose no higher than a 
brilliant display of millinery with all its emptiness and 
effrontery before the Most High God who dwelleth 
with him that is humble and of a contrite heart, and 
brought vividly to mind the " weak and beggarly ele- 
ments" of bondage. We could not find any worship 
in it, nor aught for a sin-sick soul. 

Another day we looked in upon the Tower of Lon- 
don, with its heavy walls, its dungeons, its towers, its 
prisons, its ponderous gates, bars and arches. The 
chain of buildings covers eighteen acres and enfolds 
many volumes of keenest sorrow, despair and death, 
dating from the time of William the Conqueror. It 
overlooks the river Thames and introduces itself to 
that historic stream through a wide arch called the 
Traitors' Gate. Sir Thomas More passed under this 
arch, and Queen Anne Boleyn and Queen Katharine 
Howard and Lady Jane Grey and the Dukes of Som- 
erset and Suffolk and many others, all of them to 
death. Queen Elizabeth passed under the archway, 
sent thither by her sister Queen Mary; but in the 
providence of God Queen Elizabeth was to be the 
entering wedge of England's prosperity, and she burst 
the bonds and came forth. 

We reached the second story in Beauchamp's Tower 
by a narrow, winding stone stairway which opened 



TOWER OF LONDON. 39 

into a dark and dismal prison made deeply interesting 
by a number of significant carvings on the walls. One 
of the inscriptions is the name " lane," supposed to 
to have been cut by Lord Guilford Dudley, the hus- 
band of Lady Jane Grey, who, with his father and 
brothers, was imprisoned in this dreary place. Through 
a dark, narrow passage we found our way into the cell 
where Sir Thomas More, the discarded favorite of 
Henry VIII., spent the last sixteen days of his life 
upon earth. The little room is about four feet square, 
with a stone seat projecting from the bare wall. A few 
straggling rays of light through an aperture in the wall 
only add to the horror of the loathsome place. It was 
perhaps a relief to the noble prisoner when he laid his 
head on the block on Tower Hill, July 5, 1735. 

By special favor we were shown the royal chapel. 
It is the best specimen of Norman architecture in 
England. Beyond it in the next room is the spot 
where the dynamite was thrown a few months before 
our visit. The Jewel Tower contains the crown jewels 
enclosed in a double iron cage encased in heavy plate 
glass. There are several crowns and sceptres belonging 
to different sovereigns, all very beautiful and glittering 
with jewels and diamonds. The crown of Queen Vic- 
toria occupies the highest point in the vaulted cage 
and literally blazes with jewelled rays. We had never 
imagined its grandeur — so gorgeous, so resplendent 
with brilliant light. The number of diamonds in it 
amounts to almost three thousand, with nearly three 
hundred pearls, arranged with rubies, sapphires and 
emeralds. Its value is £2,000,000. The glittering 
mass is only worn on state occasions, which must be 



40 REMINISCENCES. 

matter of rejoicing to the royal wearer, as the weight 
would certainly give ordinary mortals a violent head- 
ache, if nothing more. 

But the chambers and the armory and the long line 
of apartments, which in the past were used as a resi- 
dence for kings, is a weariness; and we stepped out 
into the open court to breathe freely. There we en- 
countered Tower Green, a square in the center of the 
court. Here is the block where the gentle and ac- 
complished Lady Jane Grey and the gay and beautiful 
Anne Boleyn laid their heads, and they sleep near by. 
Lady Jane went forth to die on a Monday morning, 
after seeing her husband's head brought back in a cart 
from Tower Hill. Her countenance was calm, and 
there were no tears in her eyes, and she prayed all the 
way to the block. She had refused the offices of a 
priest sent to examine her, saying, u I ground my faith 
upon God's word and not upon the Church." 

How thankful we should be that times have changed! 
What a record of woe this great building presents! 
All will never be told; but enough is written in living 
lines. We see the same grim and heavy outside walls 
that have absorbed so much sorrow and veiled it from 
the world. We see the same dark, narrow passages 
along which the victims were hurried, and the same 
bare and bleak inside walls that held captive the noble 
prisoners. Heavy shadows linger in the whole fabric, 
and they are stained with tears and scarred with sighs 
and groans. But we were obliged to hasten. The 
moat around this immense structure is now dry and 
planted in flowers, and the whole is strictly guarded 
by day and by night under careful military control. It 



WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 4 1 

serves a purpose in this age — that of showing the 
mediaeval government of a castle tower in active ope- 
ration. 

Not far from the Tower are the Parliament buildings, 
stately and ample, and in close proximity is Westmin- 
ster Abbey. To our dismay, the main part of this old 
and magnificent structure was closed to visitors because 
of the late display during the Queen's jubilee; but 
perhaps we saw enough. We passed along the old 
deep and mouldy cloisters, with their ponderous stone 
doors which produced a creeping sensation as if we 
had been struck with an ague. We paused before 
crumbling tombs, but had not time to find out the 
character of their contents. A few steps led up to the 
Chapter House, a beautiful octagonal building in Gothic 
style. For nearly three hundred years the House of 
Commons sat in it. Here Sir William Wallace was 
tried and sentenced to his awful death. Here Sir 
Thomas More received his death sentence, and here 
the impeachment trial of Warren Hastings was held. 
This part is very interesting and the whole Abbey, so 
old, so beautiful, so majestic, is preserved with the 
utmost care. 

Another day dawned and we visited the Chapel 
Royal and the Palace of Whitehall. Here Henry the 
VIII. lived, and from here he issued his arbitrary de- 
crees and indulged his petulance and self-will and 
tyranny. His odor is a' bad one, and every inch of 
him makes a leaf in the history of despotism. He was, 
however, though very unwittingly, an obedient servant 
of Him who said of another potentate, " I will put my 
hook in thy nose and my bridle in thy lips," &c. King 



42 REMINISCENCES. 

Henry meant it not, but he became a strong force in 
pushing forward the Reformation. God makes the 
wrath and the follies and even the vices of men to 
praise him by overruling all for the good of his chosen 
ones. The wickedness of the wicked afflicts the just; 
but the rod in the hand of a tender Father only makes 
the traveler mend his pace and hasten home. Eventu- 
ally God will punish the stout heart of him who 
rejects his counsel. Within this palace were spent the 
last days of Charles I. Upon a projection at the 
central window he laid his head on the block in 1649. 

In the chapel attached to Whitehall, Gladstone at- 
tends service, as also the royal family when in London 
over Sabbath. The Queen's seat remains as it was 
during the life of Prince Albert. It is under a canopy 
and vacant. She has not attended service there since 
his death. The chapel is quite plain and almost severe 
in style. It gets its dignity from its age and its history 
and its occupants. Wealthy congregations in America 
would tear it down and build with all the modern con- 
veniences, such as a kitchen, a cook-stove and a larder; 
but we were happy to see it as it is and would not 
change a line of its architecture. 

The river Thames was a disappointment when we 
saw it first. It was dark, sluggish and so narrow it 
could be swallowed by each of several of our rivers, 
and it would not be noticed. We know, however, it 
is a grand highway and bears on its bosom the com- 
merce of nations. Utility redeems anything. 

Kensington Gardens are very handsome, and the 
Albert Memorial at the entrance to them is grand and 
artistic in design, and the grouping and chiseling are 



SMITHFIELD. 43 

\ r ery fine in effect, and very imposing in its massive- 
ness. 

The system of underground railroads is the perfec- 
tion of city locomotion. The whole of compact 
London is a network of tunnels or arteries, through 
which the life of this great city is circulating noise- 
lessly and healthfully, without the least disturbance to 
the teeming life above ground. The stations are 
handsome buildings that open on the streets, and a 
stranger would pass them without guessing their use. 
Inside, a flight of steps leads down to the railway. 

One of the most interesting spots is Smithfield. It 
is marked by a tablet in the wall of an old building. 
Upon the tablet are these words: "The noble army of 
martyrs praise Thee." Queen Mary Tudor lighted 
the fires of Smithfield to burn the saints of the Most 
High. Here John Rodgers was burned at the stake, 
Feb. 4, 1555. The picture of John Rodgers with the 
fagots piled around him in the New England Primer 
has touched a symathetic chord in many a youthful 
heart and led them to inquire what he died for. At 
that time Smithfield was an open space outside the 
city limits. Quite near is the old prison-like church 
edifice where the infamous Bishop Gardiner served the 
Roman Catholic hierarchy and his Queen, called in 
history bloody Mary. Bishops Bonner and Gardiner 
were pliant tools in the hands of an autocratic power 
that brooked neither dissent nor inquiry. The spirit 
is Antichrist, and it is not reformed in this day of light 
and knowledge and can never be, for its end is de- 
struction. It is only biding its time for another 
onslaught, meanwhile grasping here and there after 



44 REMINISCENCES. 

the power that gives it force. Not far away is New^ 
gate, the ghastly prison in which Rodgers and Hooper 
and Bradford and others languished till their breath 
went out in the flames. 

Fleet Street has a rich flavor of poets and literary 
characters. In one of the quaint, gabled old houses 
Dryden wrote his verses, and in a solitary room looking 
out upon a little court, Oliver Goldsmith enjoyed his 
literary life, and he sleeps not far away in the church- 
yard of Temple church, in an obscure place. The 
British Museum is a wonder. It would take volumes 
to do it justice. London is j ustly proud of its invaluable 
treasures. Here are the famous Rosetta Stone and an- 
tiquities from all the ancient countries, the oldest 3800 
years old, a vase dedicated to the sun god at Sephar- 
vaim. 

A Sabbath in London was as quiet and clean and 
orderly as a Sabbath in the country. We heard 
Spurgeon preach to a great multitude. He was of the 
people, plain, impressive and sympathetic. His theme 
was Jacob's blessing upon the two sons of Joseph. 
He was earnest and natural, without the least effort at 
display. True eloquence is in the soul, and the most 
princely when the words are so simple a child can 
understand. It is a strange fatality, a fearful delusion 
when men preach themselves and hide Christ Jesus, 
thus feeding their own vanity and starving the flock. 
It is told of Mr. Spurgeon that at one time when 
speaking to the students, he lamented the coldness and 
indifference that prevailed, and upon his suggestion 
they joined with him in observing a day of fasting and 
prayer. In such devotion lies the secret of his power. 



WINDSOR CASTLE. 45 

We had a strong desire to see Queen Victoria, the 
centre of power of this truly great British nation. We 
hardly hoped for the pleasure; but at a venture we hied 
away to Windsor Castle in the early morning, and 
were well rewarded. Windsor Castle, where the Queen 
resides, is situated on the Thames about twenty miles 
from London. The Castle is interesting for its antiquity, 
having been a favorite residence of the English mon- 
archs since the time of William the Conqueror. It is 
on an elevated plateau and slopes directly down to the 
bed of the river Thames, which at this point is a nar- 
row, meandering stream, very pretty and picturesque 
and possibly quite deep. The whole grounds enclose 
1 3,000 acres, all of which is kept with scrupulous care. 
Queen Anne's Avenue of elms is three miles long. 
The park contains the oldest planted trees in England. 
There are oaks of more than iooo years. 

The group of buildings constituting this immense 
fabric is beyond description in pen pictures like these. 
The strength, the massiveness, the symmetry and ele- 
gance of this castle brought to mind the feelings of 
the Queen of Sheba when she saw the splendor of 
Solomon's home and equipage. We stood in mute 
wonder and amazement. It was too extensive for 
comprehension in a single day. The Queen's apart- 
ments and immediate grounds are very handsome and 
closely watched by royal guards who are on duty day 
and night. The Queen and her suite were to visit 
Hatfield, the home of the Marquis of Salisbury, in the 
afternoon of the day; and we were kindly invited by 
a merchant who knew we were Americans, to a seat 
on his balcony to witness the Queen's cavalcade come 



46 REMINISCENCES. 

down the hill for her special train. There were two 
state carriages, each drawn by four iron-gray horses. 
The Queen rode in the rear one. Beside each carriage 
rode a royal guard, and one was mounted on the lead 
horse of each. Both carriages had outriders. They 
were just men in uniform mounted on a pillion at the 
rear of the carriage. The Queen and her grand- 
daughter, the Princess Alice, occupied the rear, and 
facing her sat Prince and Princess Henry of Batten- 
berg. The Queen was fresh and rosy looking, and she 
shied a little as the handsome horses swept a curve in 
the street, the act giving us a good view of her royal 
person. She may have been frightened at the pranc- 
ing horses, or she may have been half conscious that 
some curious eyes were fastened upon her. They 
were admiring ones though, for there were many 
lookers-on who honor the British Queen. The Prin- 
cess Beatrice looked modest and simple, with a rosy 
English face. All admit she honors the parent who is 
as much mother as Queen. 



I N SCOTLAND. 



47 



IV. 

It is perhaps true that beauty is an element of the 
mind — that it is the peculiar construction of its tastes 
and education that invests scenes and places with at- 
tractions all its own. A place endeared to us by 
pleasant associations, whether of history, poetry or of 
early memories, is of all others, 

" Beauty to the eye and music to the ear." 

We left London the morning of July 14th for an 
all-day ride through England into the border-land of 
North Britain. Dear old Scotland! When we reached 
it, the mysterious spirit of another age full of grand 
events and with far-off voice was on the face of the 
land, was in the very air, and was snuffed with an un- 
usual thrill. The very breezes seemed kindly and near 
of kin, while the sheep on the hillsides lifted friendly 
and softened faces, and the cows nodded a welcome as 
they nipped the dainty pink clover heads in happy 
content. The cottages were all built of stone and 
were of a sombre hue, like the history of the times 
that reared them. For two and even three hundred 
years they have served their purpose. The thatch has 
been refitted time and again, but the gray old vine- 
clad walls remain solid and stately and dignified with 
age. 



48 REMINISCENCES. 

The ancient city of Hawick was our first objective 
point. It has a population of 40,000, busy with wheel 
and loom. It is situated upon the "Teviot's tide," a 
gentle stream whose waters are as musical as its name. 
The historic part is densely packed upon a narrow 
street that angles up a steep acclivity, the sight of 
which recalls the days of border chivalry, when belted 
knight rode to battle, dashing up and down the ancient 
street, scattering terror far and wide. Another and far 
more deadly foe now holds the inhabitants of this 
quarter in thralldom. That enemy is strong drink; 
and it revels with impudent face all along the way. 
But there is a new and thrifty Hawick which will 
eventually lift the dark shadow from this reeking relic 
of the past. Branching at the base of this street is a 
tortuous way to a rapid elevation upon which stands 
the oldest kirk now in use in Scotland. Quaint and 
storied, it looked out from the midst of a throng of 
dead, so dense that one remarked, "Few can win to be 
buried there now." 

Melrose lies eight miles away. Its old Abbey upon 
the Tweed, the Eilden Hills, Abbotsford and Millrig- 
hall have long had a pleasant sound; and was it a 
dream or was it real that right there " old Melrose rose 
and fair Tweed ran"? To verify it "we sought the 
convent's lonely wall," beautiful even as it crumbles to 
ashes. The fingers that wrought the shapely stones 
into such marvelous beauty and symmetry have been 
dust these many years, and their works are slowly but 
surely passing away too. Enough remains to tell of 
its former greatness. It is a poem in stone. "Was 
never scene so sad and fair," wrote Sir Walter Scott. 



MELROSE ABBEY. 



49 



It was built, as all the ancient churches were, with 
nave, aisles, chancel, transepts, cloisters, &c. Beneath 
the aisles lie the noble dead of many generations. 
Under the floor of the chancel repose the ashes of 
Alexander II. and the Black Douglass. The good Sir 
James Douglass lies close to the heart of Robert 
Bruce, whom he served so faithfully. A gush of feel- 
ing came over a lady visitor, and she stooped and 
kissed the spot where the heart of King Robert lies. 
The grave of Michael Scott, the wizard that figures in 
the ''Lay of the Last Minstrel," is pointed out, and 
the low, steel clenched postern, now black and grimy. 
Under what was once the broad arch of the groined 
roof, is the heap of rude stones upon which Sir Walter 
sat "in the pale moonlight" and wrote, 

" The moon on the east oriel shone, 
Through slender shafts of shapely stone." 

There are eight side chapels, now roofless. In 
Reformation times they were used as burial places. 
The capitals of the great pillars are well preserved and 
of excellent workmanship. No two are alike, and all 
represent some plant or flower. Many of the carvings 
are Scripture history. 

Melrose Abbey was founded in 1 1 36 by King David 
I. of Scotland, and its delicate tracery was all executed 
by the monks, who must have numbered among them 
many skilled artisans. The Abbey yard is also full of 
the ancient dead. One of the inscriptions is very 
beautiful. It is as follows: 

" Earth goeth on the earth, 
Ghat 'ring like gold ; 



50 REMINISCENCES. 

The earth goes to the earth 

Sooner than it wold ; 

The earth builds on the earth 

Castles and towers ; 

The earth says to the earth, 

All shall be ours." 

Tender and modest daisies are everywhere, and the 
grounds are handsomely kept since the Abbey became 
the property of the Duke of Buccleuch. 

Upon the tangled grass among the ancient graves in 
the Abbey yard of Melrose we sat in the stillness and 
pictured to ourselves the old life from each broken 
shaft and ruined window and then, turned from this 
seat of departed glory. Up the steep and long ac- 
clivity from the classic waters of the Tweed we slowly 
took our way. The sky overhead was beautiful. Fleecy 
clouds played with the sun, and the air was fresh and 
bracing. The surroundings w r ere so novel and delight- 
ful that the temptation came to go on foot the journey 
of seven miles we had in view. There was a fascina- 
tion about such a move we could not put away. One 
needs to be alone with nature to enter into its spirit 
and revel in its perfect harmony. 

The inhabitants of the whole country seemed to be 
minding their own affairs: for not a straggler, nor an 
idler was to be seen upon the thoroughfare. The 
birds sang in their "leafy bowers" amid the hawthorn 
hedges and skipped from limb to limb of the great 
trees that swayed their arms upon the hill-sides. 
These hill-sides, and even way-sides, were thickly set 
with grass and daisies and wild flowers that were like 
a soft carpet beneath our feet. Every outlook was a 






A RAMBLE. ^j 

new page. There were the Eilden Hills, with their 
great shaggy sides brown and almost bare; yet little 
companies of sheep picked and slept upon the terraces 
within the shadow of a quiet nook where a conventicle 
had been held in the days of the covenant. The high- 
way was as smooth as a floor, and the hedges, as far 
as vision wandered, were as neat and trim as a dainty 
flower garden. The summit of this long acclivity 
brought us to Bowden Moor, beyond which was a 
long stretch of hilltops, exhibiting forest and harvest 
land, farm-houses and "cattle upon a thousand hills," 
in most pleasing variety. The sun was creeping down 
toward evening when we reached the quiet hamlet of 
Midlem, at the edge of a beautiful "holm," with grain 
fields and meadows interspersed. The thatched cot- 
tages, the flowering dooryards, the quaint old stone 
hedges and the happy content were a story in them- 
selves. 

Here had been the early home of Rev. Robert 
Armstrong, who, in 1796, was sent by the Associate 
Synod of Scotland to missionate in the United States. 
He settled in Kentucky; but on account of slavery he 
and his congregation emigrated from that place in 
1804, and settled on Massie's Creek, Greene Co., Ohio. 
In Midlem he had been taught at his mother's knee 
the gospel truth and the faithfulness that characterized 
his after life. Here under the ministry of Rev. Andrew 
Arnot he was led to choose the sacred office of the 
ministry for his life work, and to endure hardship as a 
good soldier of Christ; and here he had worshiped in 
the quaint old church on the hill. An aged citizen, 
whose house stood where a castle of the Douglass had 



52 REMINISCENCES. 

once lifted its proud towers, told us what turn to take 
at the "braeheed" to reach Millrighall, and we passed 
on, delighted that the dear spot, the home of so many 
precious memories, should be so near. The old Asso- 
ciate Presbyterian manse of early Secession times was 
by the wayside. From this dwelling Rev. Andrew 
Arnot was sent by the Associate Synod of Scotland 
to America in 1753 in answer to a petition of some 
persons who had emigrated from Scotland and Ire- 
land. Mr. Arnot was accompanied by Rev. Alexander 
Gellatly, and these two ministers organized the first 
Associate Presbytery of the United States. 

But a few steps farther, and there was the old Hall 
itself, nestled at the side of a wimpling burn, the sound 
of which reached our ears with a pleasant murmur. 
The stream was bordered with immense sycamore and 
larch trees, their great arms reaching out over it in a 
friendly companionship. From the highway the en- 
trance was quite a long incline, as if protection from 
enemies was in the mind of the builder; and the Hall 
was as strong as a fortress in ancient days. All was 
of stone, even to the floor of the hall. The ceilings 
of both stories were low, and the windows deep and 
suggestive. Just under the eaves was a sun-dial, cut 
into the stucco work of the outside wall. A second 
story window looked out upon a beautiful landscape. 
There, too, was the spring, its waters crooning softly 
as they fled away from the roots and the shade of a 
sturdy old hawthorn, doubtless a century old. The 
moss-covered garden wall, with its abundance of 
gooseberry and black currant bushes, was just as we 
anticipated. The evenings were chilly, and the ingleside 



COUNTRY HOMES. 53 

in the old Hall was precious and grateful, as also the 
refreshing hospitality of the occupants that was given 
in unstinted measure. The memories that crowded 
thick and fast produced a sort of awe that crept over 
us as if in the presence of the dead, the blessed dead 
who have died in the Lord, and whom we long to 
meet in that other world where the ransomed will be 
forever praising God. 

When the morning dawned upon another day we 
traversed much more of field and forest, hill and dale, 
as carefully kept as a park, till we reached the mansion 
houses and grounds of Reparlaw and Catshawhill — 
intensely interesting in their old age. The lairds of 
those two houses sleep upon the hill-side at Lillieslief, 
and generous hospitality is now dispensed there by 
other hands. These two mansions have the same 
architecture, the same deep windows, the same thick 
walls, the same stone hall, the same ponderous key, 
almost one foot long, that are common elsewhere in 
these ancient houses, as if each one was cast in nearly 
the same mold. 

Nether-Raw, a more modern mansion, with its 
grounds, adjoins and is handsomely kept, both indoors 
and out. Neatness seems to be the pride of the farmer 
here, instead of broad acres, slovenly cultivated, as is 
so often the case in America. The names of these 
estates all have a meaning, just as they did in Bible 
times. Lillieslief is a hamlet not far away, whose 
houses are clustered upon one street. They are small 
and neat. The inhabitants have two churches, Estab- 
lished and United Presbyterian, in which most of them 
worship. The place was a center in early Secession 



54 REMINISCENCES. 

times, and their house of worship still stands, but is 
now the United Presbyterian church. We crossed a 
deep moss to reach Lillieslief, out of which was dug in 
modern times a stone baptismal font, probably con- 
cealed there in covenanting days. It stands in the 
church yard and is about three feet high, with a deep 
bowl cut in the top. We have lingered upon these 
places because they were the homes of a precious an- 
cestry. They are also fair samples of the country 
homes of Scotland. The scene was impressed in 
childhood days and because it was, it was indellible. 
We were better able to enjoy the real scenery the pic- 
ture of which in true lines had been fixed by many a 
story of rural life in Scotland. It gladdened us to find 
it so true to former conceptions. 



EDINBURGH CASTLE. 



55 



From the crystal waters of the Ettrick and the Yar- 
row and the home of the poet James Thomson and 
the scenes hallowed by James Hogg we were whirled 
into Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. 

" There watching high the least alarm," 

her ancient castle first claimed recognition. It seemed 
like an old friend, and we greeted it with a gush of 
feeling. It is situated upon a precipitous rock 300 
feet above the valley below, and is only accessible at 
one place. This entrance opens into the esplanade, 
upon which a Highland regiment in full dress was 
under drill. The measured tread and the evolutions 
of these men of fine physique in cap and kilt were 
very picturesque and interesting. The dress is unique, 
and yet quite becoming. It is well fitting and grace- 
ful, and yet every muscle has its full power. Not one 
of them but looked the soldier and the athlete with 
"the will to do and the soul to dare." The record of 
these Highland regiments marks them first in the 
anuals of British warfare. 

The castle gives evidence of being carefully pre- 
served; yet its hoary old age cannot be concealed, 
neither does any one want to conceal it, " The beauty 
of old men is the gray head." Almost reverently we 



56 REMINISCENCES. 

crossed the draw-bridge over the moat and entered 
the castle through the Portcullis gate. The grating of 
its ponderous bars and savage bolts has sounded the 
death knell of many a victim. The gate is underneath 
the old state prison, where the Marquis and the Earl 
of Argyle and many others were confined previous to 
their trial and execution as martyrs for Christ. Pausing 
for a while, it was easy to recall the perilous days when 
might made right, when mailed knights were always 
ready with lance and battle-axe, when siege and sally 
were the only vacations the toilers enjoyed. 

The immense structure of solid masonry, with great 
high walls of the same, is rooted in the foundation 
rock and is a closely written page of siege and tragedy, 
royalty and despair. In early history this stronghold 
was the only refuge for the whole settlement against 
an invader. The peasantry built little thatched cot- 
tages for homes, and they often fled from their enemies 
to the castle, lighted hither by the flames of their 
burning dwellings. A favorite home for the Stuart 
kings was found inside the castle walls, though it was 
a prison house for them betimes as well. Mary, the 
Queen of Scotland, found shelter here when sorrow 
and misfortune began to thicken around her. A 
shadow of her touching and impressive life seems to 
linger about the premises, in the gloomy waiting room 
of the Queen and in her little bed chamber, so quaint 
and uncomfortable. It is all a relic, and it contains 
many individual relics, such as the old Scottish crown, 
sceptre, sword of state, and the chest in which they 
were concealed during the stormy times. The castle 
has stood on its craggy height since the tenth century 



THE SCOTCHMAN. 57 

and will doubtless stand for centuries yet; for Britain 
has the good taste to preserve her interesting antiqui- 
ties so historic. 

Voices of the past ages multiply as we pursue our 
way along Lawnmarket till it is lost in High street. 
Could anything have been more weird and strangely, 
solemn and impressive than the old houses of ten sto- 
ries, with pointed gables and crow-feet adornments with 
which the street is lined? They have been the dwell- 
ings of princes and nobles and are of immense propor- 
tions, so as to shelter both chief and retainer, the 
lodgings of the latter looking out upon narrow closes 
or passages between the great houses. This capital 
city, Edinburgh, overflows with an unsurpassed interest 
in the annals of nations. Almost every footfall awak- 
ens some thrilling story of a people that in the past 
were always struggling. 

In the heroic age the strife was often with each 
other. In more modern times it was a hand-to-hand 
fight with the Evil One in the form of mystic Babylon 
enthroned at Rome. Danger and trials develop char- 
acter; and this severe training made the Scotchman 
what he really is on the pages of history — hardy, 
frugal and distinguished for sturdy independence. All 
along he has resolutely maintained the right to live 
and own himself, the right to do his own thinking and 
exercise his own judgment. This phase of life has 
made him generally terribly in earnest, so much so 
that he clung determinedly to what he undertook till 
it was pushed through. 

Most of these characteristics remain to-day and can 
be traced without difficulty. With the Scotchman's 



58 REMINISCENCES. 

intensity there is a caution and a reticence that seeks 
to conceal the inmost feelings. Consequently, as some 
one has said, he leaps with intensity, but looks well 
before he leaps. Such traits no doubt occasioned the 
witticism of Sidney Smith that rt required a surgical 
operation to get a joke into a Scotchman's head. This 
judgment could not have been serious, for the truth is 
his humor is original, rich and racy. The national 
character is also portrayed in the political, religious 
and ecclesiastical struggles of the nation. A people 
with less grit and persistence would have bowed before 
the blasts that have so often swept over them. But 
they only made this people stronger and lifted them 
into a grander life. 

The echoes of this life are very distinct and thrilling 
as we pause before St. Giles' church where the name 
of the great moral hero, John Knox, is held in grate- 
ful memory. God raised him up and fitted him for the 
niche he filled in the crucial time, when the enemies 
of truth fancied they held the citadel. The ashes of 
this brave soldier of the Lord repose beside his church, 
while around are the ancient dead beneath the pave- 
ment, dust mingling with dust, awaiting the awakening 
trumpet that shall call every one to life. It is closely 
paved with flag stones, and stranger and friend and 
foe tread upon the sleepers. The grave of John Knox 
is marked by a small stone in the pavement, the stone 
having an iron ring attached to it and in it the initials, 
"I. K." It is there as a silent witness against the 
ritualistic modern worship in the old spot where he 
once with such masterful eloquence proclaimed the 
truth without fear or favor, and leveled his barbed ar- 



A DECLINE. 59 

rows, fresh from the word of God, against the idolatry 
of the Romish Church. Now, alas ! this same idolatry 
is creeping into this church stealthily and with impu- 
dent face. 

Idolatry has the same nature in all ages. It does 
not exist simply in the gross form of bowing down to 
wood and stone, but is just as daring and displeasing 
to God when we essay to worship him in any way not 
appointed in his word. God did not say to Aaron 
that he should not make a golden calf to ornament the 
worship. He simply did not tell him to do it. Idol- 
atry is coming into this church under the guise of 
greater sanctity and increased administration of the 
ordinance of preaching — a preaching service being 
held in it every weekday afternoon, except Saturday. 
It apears in the splendor of the service, in the sensa- 
tional hymns artistically rendered with organ accom- 
paniment, in the gilded symbols and in the stately 
marching of the officiating clergymen. There is here, I 
much fear, the glitter and display of the idol's temple 
that evokes devotion from stately pillars, from memory 
tablets and exquisitely stained windows, that throw a 
flood of soft, bewitching light on pillared arches of 
rare workmanship and aisles and panels of great 
beauty. All this is descriptive at this date of the 
grand old historic Church of Scotland, as represented 
in St. Giles. What a deformity! The Church "is most 
adorned when unadorned." The Bride, the Lamb's 
wife, is only lovely when attired in the garments pur- 
chased for her by the Bridegroom and prescribed by 
him. Everything else is but tawdry, fading finery, 
insulting to the spiritual Head of the Bride. 



60 REMINISCENCES. 

We turned away from the weekday service in St. 
Giles with feelings of inexpressible sadness; for we had 
so longed to see it arrayed in the beautiful garments 
once so fitly worn. Janet Geddes sleeps well after her 
encounter with the Dean of Edinburgh; but certainly 
some descendant of the brave woman is needed to 
pitch at the service in St. Giles that same " cutty stool" 
which still has an existence in the Museum of National 
Antiquities. St. Giles is the oldest place of worship 
ill Edinburgh, being first mentioned about the middle 
of the thirteenth century. No event in the history of 
the country, either joyous, sad, or tragical has not 
sent a thrill of feeling within the walls of old St. Giles. 

Hard by is the ancient Parliament house, appropri- 
ated since the union of Scotland with England to the 
use of the Supreme Courts. The early Parliaments 
were held in different places, Scone, Perth, Stirling and 
Edinburgh being so favored. In 1295 the three es- 
tates of the realm — the bishops, the higher barons, 
and the representatives of the burghs, were first made 
constituent parts of the Scottish Parliament. At a 
critical period in Reformation times a famous Parlia- 
ment was held in Edinburgh in August, 1560. 

Where High Street ends the Canongate begins, and 
right there, almost in the middle of the street, stands 
an antique dwelling which is pointed out as the old 
home of John Knox. It is built of ashler stone; its 
walls are thick and solid; its windows small and 
peaked, and the entrance into the second story is from 
the outside by a flight of steps planted upon the street. 
It is thought to be the oldest residence in the city. It 
was once the costly home of the Abbot of Dunfermline. 



A PICTURE. 6l 

The sides of the room are in wainscoting, and there 
are historical pictures on the wall. One of Queen 
Mary is very suggestive. The royal listener is stand- 
ing, though the audience is seated, and she is bending 
forward eagerly as Knox, with a fervid glow on his 
face, addresses his audience from a pulpit still in exist- 
ence. The Queen is anxious to convict Knox and 
have him executed for treason. Her face, therefore, 
reveals the closest scrutiny and the most bitter and 
determined resentment. Pages of her blighted life 
come to the light in this picture. The little study of 
Knox is here, and the high-backed chair and the west 
window from which he addressed the surging multi- 
tude below, when too sick and feeble to be taken to 
St. Giles. One almost listens for the voice of him who 
loved God so ardently and Scotland next to his Lord. 

At the beginning of any grand' epoch or triumph of 
principle there must of necessity be self-denial and 
earnest effort. At such times there is something active 
and virulent to combat, and it requires the utmost 
vigilance on the part of the friends of truth to save it 
from waste and destruction. The best work is done in 
the face of severe opposition. As some one has said, 
11 In the field of theology there is no militant virtue, 
unless there is an active end to oppose." 

A chapter of history may be useful at this point, 
and we digress for a little to give a faint idea of some 
of the suffering Scotland had to endure. 

On the morning of the day when the Parliament of 
1560 was to be held, Knox and his friends were assem- 
bled in solemn council. The Parliament about to meet 
was to ratify or reject the Confession of Faith, so im- 



62 REMINISCENCES. 

portant to Scotland's civil and religious liberty. The 
people were armed and watching anxiously, apprehen- 
hensive of a collision between the Reformers and the 
Romanists. A petition was presented by Knox and 
his friends asking, "I. That the doctrine of Transub- 
stantiation, Justification by Works, Indulgence, Purga- 
tory, Pilgrimages and Invocation of Saints should be 
abolished by Parliament. 2. That the profanation of 
the Holy Sacraments be prevented and the discipline 
of the ancient Church restored. 3. That the Pope's 
usurped authority may be abolished and the patrimony 
of the Church be used for the sustentation of the 
ministry, the establishment of schools and the support 
of the poor." The Reformers were so well organized 
and so firm that the petition was granted. The Con- 
fession of Faith drawn up by Knox and his friends 
was then submitted and passed with enthusiasm. The 
Papal party was so utterly routed by the power of 
truth that they scarcely lifted a voice against it. Thus 
the Confession of Faith of the First Reformation was 
declared the Standard of the Protestant Church of 
Scotland. 

The Parliament of 1560 was the most influential 
that had ever met in Scotland; it really represented 
the nation, and by its late acts had instated the Refor- 
mation and deposed the Papal power. The enactments 
of Parliament were now presented to Mary and her 
husband, at the French court, for their approval, but 
the deputies were dismissed without an answer. In a 
few days after this occurrence, Mary's husband, the 
king of France, died, and the now widowed queen, 
having lost all power at the French court, was willing 



DUPLICITY. 63 

to return to her own land as Queen of the Scots. 
Hence in August, 1 561, Mary landed in Scotland 
among a people devoutly loyal, provided their allegi- 
ance to their earthly sovereign did not conflict with 
their allegiance to the King of kings. Mary was a 
woman of matchless beauty, of high accomplishments 
both in manner and speech. Her mother's dissimula- 
tion and her father's jealousy of the royal prerogative 
had been intensified by her education and her religion. 
Had she been educated differently her reign might 
have blessed the world. But she was the dupe of bad 
counsels — a despot inspirit and practice and recklessly 
opposed to the best interests of her country. The 
Reformers very soon learned that Mary could not be 
trusted. She knew that the Protestants were the most 
numerous body in the kingdom, that they possessed 
all the power, and she resolved to dissemble her real 
feelings, saying that it was her will that the religious 
system established should be undisturbed. At the 
same time she had been taught, and she believed that 
it would be the crowning glory of her kingdom to bring 
it back to Papal sway. The Popish princes not only 
promised her support in chastening her rebellious sub- 
jects, but in prosecuting her claims to the English 
crown. 

It is evident from her correspondence with foreign 
ambassadors that it was her fixed purpose to restore 
the Roman Catholic religion at the first opportunity. 
This required the Reformers to be exceedingly vigilant. 
Knox was specially fitted to contend for the faith 
against Mary's duplicity. The deputies sent to France 
were charged to promise her nothing more than the 



64 REMINISCENCES. 

private exercise of her religion. But Mary, on the first 
opportunity, ordered the celebration of high mass; 
thus confirming their fears of her determination to 
allow the Reformed Church to stand only till it was 
safe to overthrow it. While the idolatrous rite was in 
progress threatening crowds gathered, and although 
Knox tried to quell the tumult, he did not succeed till 
much damage was done to the chapel. He had several 
interviews with Mary during which he did not hesitate 
to warn her of her sins, and when from vexation at his 
reproof she burst into tears, he said, "Madam, in 
God's presence I speak. I never delighted in the 
weeping of any one. I can scarcely abide the tears 
of my own boys when my own hands correct them; 
much less can I rejoice in your Majesty's weeping." 
When Knox was asked his opinion of Mary, he said, 
"If there be not in her a proud mind, a crafty wit and 
an indurate heart against God and his truth, my judg- 
ment faileth me." Her whole life was a struggle 
marked by her hostility to the Reformation, and Knox 
was brave enough to speak the truth even to a beauti- 
ful queen. He was more true, more heroic, more 
kingly than all the race of Stuarts. He had a right 
in God's name "to reproVe, rebuke and exhort with all 
long suffering," and he did it fearlessly and with gene- 
rous intent. Instant in season and out of season he 
lived with one great aim, and under his watchful care 
the Reformation crystalized into order and became 
more and more a part of the people. In all this Knox 
was not only an active agent, but the agent above all 
others in bringing it about. He did not obtain all he 
sought, especially with regard to providing for the 






THE REFORMATION. 65 

support of the Church and of education throughout 
the country. Still, he accomplished a great radical 
work destined to be consolidated after many years. 

When Mary's scandalous conduct drove her from her 
throne and finally from her native land, the Earl of 
Murray, an earnest Reformer, was appointed regent 
during the minority of Mary's only child James VI., 
which brought peace to the Reformed Church. Par- 
liament met in December, 1567. John Knox preached 
at its opening and exhorted them to begin with the 
affairs of religion as without it they would have no 
success. Thanks were then returned to God for the 
free course of the Gospel throughout the kingdom. 
Parliament then ratified all the acts passed in 1560 in 
favor of the Reformation, and provided that no prince 
should ever afterward exercise authority in the king- 
dom without taking an oath to maintain the Protestant 
religion and that none but Protestants should be ad- 
mitted to any office except those whose rights were 
hereditary. When the first General Assembly was 
held there were but twelve ministers. Seven years 
afterward there were two hundred and fifty-two minis- 
ters, four hundred and sixty-seven readers and one 
hundred and fifty-four teachers for the congregations. 
The intervening years had been spent in a continual 
struggle against a queen bent on the destruction of the 
Church by every artifice that craft and malice could 
suggest. But the Church only waxed stronger. Its 
progress in doctrine and discipline was equally rapid. 
It was accomplished not by might nor by power, but 
by the Spirit of the Lord of Hosts. There was a 
wonderful outpouring of the Spirit upon the Church 
5 



66 REMINISCENCES. 

of Scotland when the walls of her temple were being 
built in such troublous times. There is perhaps no 
clearer proof of this outpouring than when a Church 
unswervingly follows the course pointed out in the 
word of God and refuses to turn aside from motives 
of policy, expediency or human prudence, and no 
surer evidence that she has forsaken God than when 
she begins to mould her measures into conformity 
with the fashions and tastes of the world. 

Time passed along till it was evident the career of 
John Knox was drawing to a close. Worn out with 
incessant labors, his voice had become so weak he 
could no longer be heard in St. Giles' Church, and an- 
other minister was called as his colleague. He labored 
while he could bear even to be propped up and lay 
down to die when he could labor no longer. When 
suffering from debility, he visited St. Andrew's Church 
where he began his ministry, and roused himself to 
preach there once more. He was lifted into the pulpit 
by a friend who said as he went on with his discourse, 
he became so active and vigorous that "he was lyke to 
ding the pulpit into blades and flie out of it." On the 
evening of October 29, 1572, John Knox fell asleep in 
the full assurance of faith, with this prayer for Scotland 
upon his lips, " O Lord, raise up faithful pastors who 
will take charge of thy Church." 

Upon the death of John Knox the Church of Scot- 
land reeled like a storm-tossed vessel without a pilot. 
There were breakers ahead, and toward them she 
drifted. Almost immediately Episcopacy began to lift 
its head and show its colors. And although Andrew 
Melville returned from Geneva to his native land to 



A REFORMATION. 6? 

enrich the Church with his learning and piety, yet the 
tide in favor of bishops and a Liturgy set in so 
strong that a new struggle became very apparent. 
James VI. was proclaimed king in his twelfth year, 
and promised upon his accession " to do everything in 
his power for the advancement of true religion as 
presently professed in the realm." But he developed 
into a weak and vascillating prince, and early gave 
evidence that the standard of faith reached by Knox 
and carried on by Melville was too pure and spiritual 
for a vain and tyrannical king and his dissolute com- 
panions, who strove with all their power to advance 
the prelatic element as best suited to royalty. 

The year 1581 was also an important one in the 
history of the Scottish Church. The king had two 
favorite companions who were Romanists, and whose 
influence over him was very great. The idea took 
possession of the people that they were agents of the 
Pope for the overthrow of the Reformed Church, and 
a panic seized the nation. The pulpits denounced 
Popery and condemned the conduct of the king. 
James became alarmed, and to avert the threatened 
calamity he caused a confession of faith to be drawn 
up abjuring all the corruptions of Rome. It was drawn 
in the form of an oath and is known as The First 
National Covenant of Scotland. This covenant was 
subscribed by the king and all his household, and 
measures were taken for its circulation and subscrip- 
tion in every parish. The king, however, was not 
sincere in this, neither could he be trusted. In 1584 
Andrew Melville preached on a fast day upon the 
address of Daniel to Belshazzar. He claimed that it 



68 REMINISCENCES- 

was the duty of ministers to apply examples of God's 
mercy and judgment in other ages to kings and princes 
and people of their own times. For this he was ar- 
raigned before the king and his council and condemned 
to imprisonment in Blackness castle. Melville and his 
friends felt that if he submitted to imprisonment he 
would never come out alive, and he fled to England. 

When Mary of Scotland was executed in England 
in 1587, there followed a time of general alarm. The 
Popish princes entered into a league to suppress the 
Protestant faith. Presbyterianism revived and a greater 
advance was made than the ministers dared to hope 
for. Various causes were at work to bring this about. 
The country was in a fever of excitement over the 
murder of the late regent, "the bonnieearl of Murray," 
as he was called; and the Popish Earl of Bothwell was 
in arms against the king. But as soon as this danger 
was past, James yielded to flattery, and when in the 
following year the Popish lords entered into a conspi- 
racy with Spain to subvert the Reformed religion, the 
indifference of the king gave great anxiety to the 
Presbyterians and brought them to feel that God was 
pleading a controversy with them. 

When the General Assembly met in 1596, the first 
thing that came before them was an overture concern- 
ing national reformation. It was proposed by Rev. 
John Davidson to the Presbytery of Haddington and 
approved and transmitted to the General Assembly. 
The dangers and difficulties through which the Church 
and nation had passed, and which were still threaten- 
ing them made them of one mind, and the overture 
met with unanimous favor. It seemed to be the 



COVENANTING. 69 

universal feeling that the sins prevailing were causing 
the displeasure of heaven and called for repentance 
and humiliation. A form of confession was drawn up 
specifying the sins to be repented of. The ministers 
agreed to meet alone and engage in a solemn act of 
confession and supplication for divine aid. Davidson 
was appointed to preside. He so earnestly poured out 
his soul in confessing the sins of the ministry that 
every heart was deeply touched. While they were in 
this frame of mind, he asked them to turn to the pri- 
vacy of their own souls and acknowledge personal 
guilt before God. For a quarter of an hour nothing 
was heard but sighs and half stifled sobs. Every eye 
streamed with tears as each minister searched the dark 
chambers of his own heart. They rose from prayer, 
and lifting up their right hands, they entered anew 
into solemn covenant with God to walk in his ways 
and be more diligent in their work than they had ever 
yet been. It was also appointed that this solemn cov- 
enant should be repeated in the several Presbyteries 
and even in the congregations of the Church. Cheerful 
and prompt obedience was everywhere given to this 
command, and it was the means of stirring up the 
whole ministry to unwonted zeal and earnestness in the 
discharge of their duties, lest some soul in the provi- 
dence of God committed to their care should be lost 
through their neglect. There was such reverence for 
God that it excluded every other fear. It seemed in- 
deed to be the preparation for the wasting conflict 
soon to come — the fiery trial which was to test their 
attachment to their principles. It was the spiritual 
strength that gave life to the Church through a period 



JO REMINISCENCES. 

of dreary oppression as the food given to Elijah by the 
angel nourished him in journeying through the wilder- 
ness; otherwise "the journey was too great for him." 

King James acquiesced in the revival of Presbyteri- 
anism under the pressure of circumstances and soon 
repented it. Andrew Melville waited upon him and 
expostulated with him, and seizing the king by the 
sleeve, he fearlessly called him "God's silly vassal." 
Said Melville, "As I have told you divers times so I 
tell you now, there are two kings and two kingdoms in 
Scotland ; there is Christ Jesus the King of the Church, 
whose subject king James is, and of whose kingdom 
he is not a king, but a member." In March 1603, 
Queen Elizabeth died, and James was proclaimed king 
of Scotland, England and Ireland and took peaceable 
possession of his new dominions. When he left Scot- 
land he approved of the Presbyterian Church, saying 
he intended no change in its government. As soon as 
he was seated firmly on the English throne he turned 
to his favorite maxim, "No bishop, no king." To him 
the most solemn promises were but empty words, to 
him oaths were fetters of iron to Presbyterians and 
only threads of gossamer to kings and potentates. 
Stealthily and step by step James imposed Episcopacy 
upon Scotland. In 1605 he prohibited meetings of the 
General Assembly unless called by the king. In 1606 
he restored the bishops and declared his own power 
absolute in things spiritual. In 1608 he banished the 
most faithful Presbyterian ministers. 

The nation now buckled on its armor and with 
strong and courageous heart waited for the contest. 
Rev. Mr. Welch had been banished fourteen years; his 



CHARLES I. J l 

health failed, and he longed to return to his home. 
His wife was a daughter of John Knox. She made 
her way to the king and entreated him to permit him 
to return. He replied he would if she would persuade 
him to submit to the bishops. She answered, lifting 
her apron as if receiving his falling head, " Please your 
majesty, I would rather receive his head there." In 
the winter of 1624 the king issued a proclamation 
commanding the observance of Easter throughout 
Scotland under pain of severe punishment. But before 
Easter came his kingly sceptre was demanded by a 
Monarch more powerful than himself. King James 
died March 1625, and his only surviving son, Charles 
I., was proclaimed. 

When Charles I. took the reins of government in 
England, the Presbyterian party entertained a faint 
hope that the new king would remove some of the 
causes of discontent. They accordingly sent Rev. 
Robert Scott of Glasgow, to present a supplication 
craving a redress of grievances. Charles had been 
carefully educated by his father in all his views respect- 
ing the nature and extent of the royal prerogative; he 
also inherited his hostility to the non-conforming min- 
isters, and his answer was that he would maintain 
prelacy as established in Scotland by his father in all 
its extent and at all hazards. The feeling of anxiety 
was increased by his marriage with Henrietta of 
France, a Roman Catholic princess. In 1629 there 
were symptoms of division in the prelatic party. The 
younger and more flippant prelates were impatient 
and anxious to make progress which stimulated the 
rash disposition of the king, and he ordered that all 



72 REMINISCENCES. 

the ceremonies of the English Church should be re- 
ceived in Scotland. 

In the following year the younger prelates began to 
introduce organs, choristers and surplices in their own 
churches. The older and more prudent prelates op- 
posed the measure as dangerous in the excited state 
of the country, and the innovation did not make much 
progress. It must not be thought that during these 
years of despotism and wrong there were no faithful 
witnesses for the truth. The Head of the Church 
kept the precious spark alive. In 1637 Charles issued 
a proclamation commanding the English Liturgy to be 
used in all the churches in Edinburgh, and the minis- 
ters were ordered to make the announcement from 
their pulpits on the coming Sabbath. All the ministers 
promised to obey but Andrew Ramsey. For refusing 
he was promptly suspended from the ministerial office. 
To the private members in Edinburgh this announce- 
ment was like a trumpet call to arms. During the 
week numerous meetings for prayer and consultation 
were held. Vigorous tracts and pamphlets were circu- 
lated condemning the Liturgy, and a murmur of 
indignation was heard far and wide like the muttering 
thunder that proclaims the tempest. 

July 23, 1637, the perilous experiment was to be 
made in St. Giles' Church; and on that morning the 
Dean of Edinburgh, attended by the civil officers and 
many of the prelates, prepared for the service. The 
vast edifice was crowded, many no doubt being at- 
tracted by the novelty of the proceedure. A deep, 
calm melancholy pervaded the assembly with all the 
evidence of the white heat before the outburst. When 



A crisis. 73 

the Dean appeared in his surplice and began the Lit- 
urgy, instantly an old woman called Janet Geddes 
started up, exclaiming: " Villain, dost thou say mass 
at my lug!" and hurled at the Dean's head the stool 
on which she had been sitting. Then followed a scene 
of uproar and confusion. Missiles flew from every 
quarter at the Dean. The women invaded the desk 
with thaeatening words till he threw off his surplice 
and fled. The Bishop of Edinburgh attempted to re- 
store order, but it only added to the flame, as they 
cried: "A Pope! a Pope! down with anti-Christ!" In 
the church of the Greyfriars there was no popular 
outburst, but there was loud weeping, wailing and 
lamentation. The prelatic party was not prepared for 
this popular wrath. They expected murmurs from the 
people, but not obstinate resistance. 

This despotic measure acted like a spark thrown 
upon a train of gunpowder. The Presbyterians 
crowded to Edinburgh from all parts of the kingdom, 
bringing with them many hitherto lukewarm noblemen 
whose fervor was kindled into a glow by the king's 
imperious command. They were animated by one 
firm resolution to defend the purity and freedom of 
their national religion. They sent a petition to the 
king pleading that the Liturgy should not be forced 
upon the people. Charles replied that the bishops 
acted by his express authority, and that he approved 
the Liturgy as having nothing in it prejudicial to the 
ancient religion in Scotland, and closed by denouncing 
their meetings as conspiracies, forbidding them in fu- 
ture under pain of treason. The proclamation was 
read in Edinburgh and at once followed by a protest 



74 REMINISCENCES. 

from the Presbyterians under the leadership of Alex- 
ander Henderson, a man of talent and intrepidity 
whom God raised up to defend the liberties of his 
Church. Wherever the king's proclamation was read 
the protest of the faithful Presbyterians was read also, 
and seemed to unite them more firmly in their opposi- 
tion to these encroachments. Affairs were approaching 
a crisis, and nothing seemed to remain but armed re- 
sistance or entire surrender of civil and religious liberty. 
The Presbyterians felt in this emergency that they 
must have some decided and permanent bond of 
union. Alexander Henderson, with others, became 
convinced that the Church and nation were suffering 
the natural consequences of their own defection, and 
calling to mind how greatly God had blessed the pre- 
vious covenants in which they had engaged, they came 
to the important conclusion that it was their duty and 
only safety to return to God and renew their covenant 
engagements to him. 

To the people of Seotland the idea of renewing 
their covenanting engagements was reassuring, and it 
revived their drooping spirits. They felt that a de- 
cisive step was imperative to preserve civil and religious 
liberty, and in obedience to a call from the ministers 
and nobles sixty thousand Presbyterians assembled in 
Edinburgh to concert measures for preserving the 
purity of their worship, as well as to defeat the devices 
of their enemies and cement their own union by a 
solemn obligation. On the Sabbath, February 25, 
1638, the ministers preached to crowded audiences of 
deep-thinking men and women on the duties and 
perils of the hour and the defections of the Church 



LOYALTY. 75 

and nation. In this way the idea of renewing the 
National Covenant was joyfully accepted and in a 
marvelous way, so much so that to the surprise of the 
ministers the people generally were strongly inclined 
and even anxious to renew the covenant. All worldly 
considerations seemed to vanish, and they were ani- 
mated with one desire to recover the purity and liberty 
of the gospel as before established. Some few had 
doubts, but these doubts were wonderfully removed. 
They were careful to declare that they acknowledged 
the civil authority of the king, but disowned his eccle- 
siastical supremacy or headship over the Church. 
They therefore inserted in the bond the duty of sub- 
jects to obey the king and defend his person. Alex- 
ander Henderson and three others wrote the bond, 
which consisted of three parts: I. The old covenant 
of 1 5 8 1 . 2. The acts of Parliament condemning Popery 
and ratifying the acts of the General Assembly. 3. 
The special application of the whole to present cir- 
cumstances, binding themselves to adhere to and defend 
the true religion against all innovations. It concluded 
with a bold and eloquent exhibit of the reciprocal 
duties of kings and subjects, breathing a lofty and pure 
patriotism. This bond was denounced by the prelatic 
party as a treasonable compact. But some of the 
ablest lawyers of the time, including the king's advo- 
cate, defended its legality upon the ground of the 
usage of the kingdom and the royal sanction in days 
gone by. 

At length the important day, March 1, 1638, arrived 
in which Scotland was to renew her solemn covenant 
union with God. The day was observed as one of 



j6 REMINISCENCES. 

earnest fasting and humiliation. After sermon in the 
Greyfriar's Church in Edinburgh, in which the suppli- 
cants were assembled, the covenant was read, and 
Lord Lansdown addressed the assembled multitude in 
an impressive and eloquent address on the importance 
of union at this critical time and of perseverance in 
the good cause which they had espoused and also ex- 
plained and vindicated the object of the covenant. 
Rev. Alexander Henderson offered a prayer of remark- 
able power and earnestness, and a solemn stillness, 
deep, unbroken and sacred fell upon the Assembly. 
They felt the near presence of the majesty of God to 
whom they were about to vow allegiance. The noble- 
men advanced first, and with uplifted hands solemnly 
swore to observe the duties which the covenant re- 
quired. Then came the ministers, after which thousands 
of every rank passed forward and took the oath with 
breathless reverence and awe, as if each one felt alone 
in the presence of the Searcher of all hearts. The 
vast sheet of parchment, more than fifteen feet square, 
was soon so full of names that numbers could only 
sign their initials. Rapture and tears of joy were on 
every face. When all inside the vast church had sub- 
scribed, Scotland's covenant was carried to the 
churchyard and spread on a level gravestone to get 
the signatures of the throbbing multitude that waited 
outside. Here the intense emotion of many burst 
out in loud weeping and shouts of fervent exclamation. 
Some added to their names the words, "till death," 
and some opened their veins and subscribed with their 
own warm blood. Then, as if moved by the one 
Eternal Spirit, with low sighs and faces streaming with 



CHARLES ALARMED. *JJ 

tears, they lifted up their right hands to heaven and 
"joined themselves to the Lord in an everlasting cove- 
nant that shall not be forgotten." No compulsion was 
needed, and it is certain none was employed, and great 
care was taken to prevent incompetent persons from 
subscribing. Copies of the bond were transmitted to 
the several Presbyteries throughout the kingdom and 
were subscribed by all ranks with the greatest enthu- 
siasm. 

The high privilege of the occasion and sublime 
pathos of the scene in the Greyfriar's Church sheds 
even to this day a hallowing influence. Says one: 
"Never, except among God's own peculiar people — 
the Jews — did any national transaction equal it in 
moral and religious sublimity." On the evening of 
that day, after the deepest and most intense emotion 
without the slightest confusion or tumult, that mighty 
multitude of sixty thousand Covenanters went quietly 
away to their own homes, with their souls filled with 
holy joy and spiritual elevation by the power of the 
sacred pledge they had given to be faithful to their 
country and their God. The prelates were struck- with 
dismay at this demonstration. Charles summoned his 
council, and the Scotch bishops were urgent for repres- 
sive and severe measures. When this news reached 
the Covenanters, some of the leading men went north 
and explained the covenant to the people among the 
highlands. Great numbers subscribed the covenant 
and the kingdom was so united that the prelates fled 
from the country. This made the prelatic cry for 
repressive measures a doubtful question, and the per- 
fiidous king opened negotiations by sending the 



yS REMINISCENCES. 

Marquis of Hamilton with instructions to pretend 
friendship so as to detect their plans. But the Cove- 
nanters were on their guard, and they refused to 
negotiate unless the Marquis would meet them in 
Edinburgh. 

In the meantime the Covenanters kept a general fast 
in a solemn and impressive manner to fit them for the 
approaching struggle. As a precautionary measure 
they placed a guard on the castle of Edinburgh to 
prevent a surprise, and an immense multitude flocked 
to the city of both sexes. There was a greater multi- 
tude than at the signing of the covenant. As Hamilton 
rode slowly along the line of about sixty thousand 
persons with six hundred ministers drawn up in solid 
phalanx, not with clashing arms and fierce battle-cry, 
but with earnest and fervent prayers for religious 
liberty, he wept and said he wished the king could 
witness a scene so affecting and sublime. The Cove- 
nanters presented a supplication containing grievances 
and asked a free General Assembly and a free Parlia- 
ment. Hamilton delayed his answer and, while the 
negotiations were pending, the king was practicing the 
most treacherous dissimulation. He was busy all the 
time levying forces, collecting military stores and pre- 
paring a fleet to suppress his faithful subjects. Upon 
this discovery the Covenanters called a General As- 
sembly which had not been permitted to meet for 
twenty years. Because of this, true Presbyterian 
principles were almost lost in many places. The lead- 
ing ministers were obliged to send deputies to many 
of the Presbyteries with instructions regarding some 
of the principles of their profession. The Assembly 



VIGOROUS ACTION. 



79 



was to meet in November of this year, and for three 
days before, the Covenanters were engaged in hum- 
bling themselves before God and crying to him in 
earnest prayer for direction. When the Assembly met 
Alexander Henderson was chosen moderator. The 
king's Commissioner was present and protested against 
every measure, complaining that the Assembly was 
vitiated by the admission of elders as members of 
Assembly and ordered them to dissolve under pain of 
treason, which they refused to do, and he withdrew. 
An act was then passed annulling all the corrupt As- 
semblies which had established prelacy, and the 
innovations they sanctioned were declared illegal; also 
an act was passed restoring to all the courts of the 
Church the enjoyment of their constitutional privileges 
according to the Book of Discipline, together with an 
act forbidding the induction of any minister in any 
congregation against the will of the congregation. 
Presbyteries were also directed to see that schools 
were established and supported in their bounds. After 
prayer, praise and the benediction, Henderson ad- 
journed the Assembly, saying, "We have now cast 
down the walls of Jericho. Let him that rebuildeth 
beware of the curse of Hiel the Bethelite." This was 
the starting point of Scotland's second Reformation. 
Its great illuminating principles pierced into the very 
core of Scotland's heart and there deposited its vital 
energies. The benefit and the influence of this solemn 
covenant in which the Scottish people had engaged 
has extended beyond the age and the nation in which 
it originated. It may not be generally acknowledged, 
but still it is true, that Great Britain and America owe 



80 REMINISCENCES. 

their constitutional freedom at this hour to the influ- 
ence of that compact. It saved Scotland from the 
subversion of her liberties and animated the patriotism 
of England in her struggle to cast off the yoke of the 
house of Stuart. This Scripture will apply to them, 
"And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I 
will bring you into the bond of the covenant: and I 
will purge out from you the rebels and them that 
transgress against me." 

When the General Assembly met in July, 1642, it 
was evident Scotland would be involved in the mad- 
dening whirl of civil war now raging in England, and 
the Assembly gladly received a communication from 
the English Parliament saying it was their intention to 
call an Assembly of divines " to frame such a Confes- 
sion of Faith, Catechism and Directory for Worship 
as might lead to uniformity between the churches," 
and requesting Commissioners from the Scottish 
Church to assist in their deliberations. 

The General Assembly met again in Edinburgh, 
August 2, 1643, with the feeling that another crisis 
was upon them. They first set apart a day for fasting 
and supplication for Divine direction. Henderson was 
chosen moderator, and in a few days Commissioners 
arrived from England to confer with the Assembly. 
Hostilities had actually commenced between the king 
and his Parliament, and the opposing armies were in 
the field; consequently, the Commissioners proposed a 
civil league between the two kingdoms for mutual 
defense. But the Assembly urged a religious union 
for the establishment of uniformity in religion. This 
proposal was finally agreed to and the covenant was 



WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY. 8 1 

renewed under the title of the Solemn League and 
Covenant and embraced by England as well as Scot- 
land. 

This famous document consisted of an oath to be 
subscribed by all classes in both kingdoms. They 
bound themselves to preserve the reformed religion in 
doctrine, worship, discipline and government, and to 
promote its reformation according to the word of God. 
Henderson wrote the covenant and it was heartily 
adopted by the Assembly with tears, whispered 
prayers, and thanksgivings and emotions of the deep- 
est solemnity and awe. It was then taken to the 
convention of estates and by them unanimously ratified, 
and transmitted to England where it was accepted and 
solemnly sworn by both houses of Parliament. This 
international compact is one of the noblest in its nature 
and principles that ever bound a people together. It 
was presented to and subscribed by the people in both 
kingdoms. Meanwhile the celebrated Westminster 
Assembly met by authority of the two houses of the 
English Parliament, July I, 1643, and remained in 
session in London four years. It was to consist of one 
hundred and twenty ministers, thirty laymen, of whom 
ten were lords and twenty commoners. The Scottish 
Church was represented by Alexander Henderson, 
Samuel Rutherford, George Gillespie and Robert 
Bailie, ministers, with the Earl of Cassilis, Lord M^it- 
land and Archibald Johnston, elders. The Westminster 
Confession of Faith, Catechisms Larger and Shorter, 
and the metrical version of the Scripture Psalms now 
in use in the purer Churches in Scotland was the result. 
The Scotch divines were able, learned and deep-think- 
6 



. 82 REMINISCENCES. 

ing men of undoubted piety and attachment to their 
principles and well acquainted with Presbyterianism. 
Their theological writings are still standard works and 
show how discriminating they were and how closely 
they walked with God. 

When Charles II. by a strange freak of royalty was 
placed upon the English throne in 1 660, the Cove- 
nanters hailed the event with mingled rejoicing and 
trembling. It was the restoration of their ancient race 
of kings. He had taken both covenants and solemnly 
sworn to defend the Presbyterian Church. They 
therefore had some reason to hope they would be per- 
mitted to worship God after the form so dear to their 
hearts. But the king had been educated to keep no 
faith with Protestants, and as soon as he was securely 
seated on the English throne, he began to labor for 
the overthrow of Presbytery and the re-establishment 
of Episcopacy. A similar attempt ruined his father; 
but England then was disaffected to the royal govern- 
ment and sympathized with the Scots. The intervening 
years brought a change. Presbyterianism had never 
sunk into the English heart, and they were now zealous 
alike for monarchy and prelacy; so that the overthrow 
of Presbyterianism was attended with little risk to the 
throne. Should there be astonishment at the rapid 
transformation from the subscription of the Solemn 
League and Covenant to the re-establishment of 
prelacy, let the reader turn to the history of Israel and 
Judah under their kings. When Elijah rebuked idola- 
try by fire from heaven, the people cried, " The Lord, 
he is the God," and in a short space of time this 
servant of the Lord was compelled to fly to the 



A NOTED MARTYR. 83 

wilderness without friends for protection or even open 
sympathy. 

With the restoration of the Stuarts to the throne of 
their ancestors a new era of the Church of Scotland 
began — an era of intense suffering and exalted endur- 
ance that stamps it as one of the refining periods which 
was to take place in the latter days. The restoration 
of Charles II. without conditions was a sort of frenzy 
— a reaetion from the radicalism of Cromwell's reign. 
It became epidemic and swept through Scotland with 
irresistible power. 

One of the first acts of the restored monarch was 
the execution of the Marquis of Argyle, a powerful 
nobleman, a true Scotchman and a faithful Covenanter. 
The king feared him and contrived to get him out of 
the way by charging him with disloyalty during Crom- 
well's reign. The amnesty granted to English subjects 
was withheld from Scotland, and this able parliamentary 
leader, incorruptible statesman, with a soul for a king, 
was decoyed to London upon pretense of friendship, 
and while there was arrested and thrown into the 
Tower. A hasty trial followed ; but his death was a 
foregone conclusion, and he was condemned to be 
executed in two days after his trial, and his head to be 
affixed to the Tolbooth. The intercession of his eldest 
son, Lord Lorn, was of no avail, and the order was 
executed. When going to the scaffold he said, "I 
could die like a Roman, but I choose rather to die like 
a Christian." He ascended the scaffold with great 
composure and spoke some time in vindication of hi* 
conduct. Said he, "We are tied by covenants to reli- 
gion and reformation. Those who were then unborn 



84 REMINISCENCES. 

are yet engaged, and it passeth the power of all the 
magistrates under heaven to absolve from the oath of 
God." He said he feared not death, for the Lord had 
heard his prayers and had given him courage. 

The next victim was Rev. James Guthrie, minister 
of Sterling. He was one of the ablest and most fear- 
less of the ministers. His offense was having written 
a pamphlet entitled, " The Causes of the Lord's Wrath," 
and declining the king's authority in things purely 
ecclesiastical. During his trial he proved that his 
declinature was agreeable to the word of God and the 
practice of the Church; but it was to no purpose. His 
enemies thought his death would strike terror into the 
faithful party, and he was condemned to die as a traitor. 
The prelates remembered with bitterness and hatred 
the Assembly of divines at Westminster, and, together 
with the king, were afraid that Presbyterians should 
again dictate terms to them. On the day of execution, 
Guthrie spoke an hour upon the scaffold. He was 
feeble from long imprisonment, and said, "I have 
founded my speeches, writings and actings on the word 
of God, and on the doctrine, Confession of Faith, and 
laws of this Church and kingdom — upon the national 
covenant of Scotland, and the Solemn League and 
Covenant." A moment before the axe descended, he 
cried, "The covenant — the covenant shall yet be Scot- 
land's reviving." 

Such is a brief outline of the causes which led to the 
period of bitter and relentless persecution, including 
what is called the "killing time," and which lasted 
twenty-eight years. During these years it is computed 
that over eighteen thousand persons suffered death in 



THE REVOLUTION. 85 

some form for their religion. Besides this, hundreds 
suffered in most loathsome dungeons and perished 
through cold, hunger and fatigue while wandering 
among the mountains and over the moors, of which a 
record has not been kept, " but under the altar and 
about the throne of the Lamb, where their heads are 
crowned and their white robes seen, an exact number 
will at last be found." 

Charles II. was succeeded by his brother, the Duke 
of York, as James II. of England. He distinguished 
his brief reign by open and persistent attempts to ad- 
vance Popery and by other acts of tyranny and fraud, 
and the nation roused herself in obedience to an irre- 
sistible impulse and threw off the hated yoke of the 
Stuarts. William, Prince of Orange, who was married 
to Mary the daughter of the king, was invited by the 
most influential men in the kingdom to take the reins 
of government and give aid in maintaining the liberties 
of the country. The Prince of Orange had long been 
watching the tyranny of James, and after counsel and 
deliberation he put to sea for England, landing in No- 
vember, 1688. James, wretched and despised, fled to 
France, and the revolution took place without a 
struggle. 

The room where the Scottish Parliament met is a 
study. The ceiling is finished in carved oak, and the 
walls are adorned with pictures and statues of distin- 
guished men. The handsomest piece of art in it is a 
stained glass window on the south side. The subject 
is the Inauguration of the Court of James V., 1537. 
The king is in the act of presenting the keys of the 
city to the Lord Mayor. James is in royal robes of 



86 REMINISCENCES. 

the most gorgeous pattern and is seated upon his 
throne. His feet rest upon a scarlet velvet cushion, 
his arm, in graceful drapery, is extended, and the poise 
of the figure is indicative of the ease and dignity of 
the Stuarts. There are many other figures, among 
them noble ladies. The Archbishop of Glasgow and 
the Abbot of Cambuskenneth are in long flowing 
robes of purple and scarlet velvet, slightly thrown open 
to reveal a lining of most delicate contrasting shade. 
These haughty churchmen really outshine the king in 
the rich and splendid coloring of their costly robes. 
It is easy to guess the arrogance and persistence of 
their claims to dictate terms to potentates. 

Where the Canongate, or gate of the Canons, opens 
or continues from High Street once stood the Nether- 
Bow-Port with its ghastly record. Along this narrow 
street are curious old houses, where noble lords and 
court ladies intrigued and played their game of life, 
very much as fools are doing to-day. This street has 
not only been the scene of battles fierce and dread, 
but beautiful and stately ladies and brave and princely 
men have made it resound with merriment and glitter 
with the splendor of their equipments, as they moved 
in magnificent cavalcade from palace to castle. It 
teems with human life to-day as it did then; and it is 
gay too, but the gayety is of a different sort. From 
many of the upper windows of these princely houses 
the week's washing of poverty is fastened upon poles 
and shoved out to the breeze, as flaunting waves of 
canopy over the street, their many colors presenting a 
patten of modern crazy work. 

The saddest of memories will present itself, and we 



HOLYROOD. 



87 



recall the eventful life of Mary the Queen of Scots, as 

the palace and Abbey of Holyrood come into view, 

the latter one of the finest specimens of mediaeval 

architecture. It is indeed a grand ruin, a crowded 

chapter in the archives of generations. There is the 

sleeping dust of kings and nobles who have fought 

their fight, much of it an evil one. Within these walls 

and pillars of exquisite sculpture, within these windows 

and entrances of rare carving, an idolatrous worship 

long lifted its ugly head and filled a brimming cup in 

the scene which placed Riccio in a gory grave near 

the palace entrance. Not a vestige remains of the 

storm and passion and tragedy that once raged here. 

The roof is gone, and the tender, carefully kept grass 

is starred with daisies so white and pure, they almost 

seem to have intelligence. Inside the palace the air 

of abandonment is oppressive. Mary of Scotland 

holds court here no longer. That which represents 

her beauty, her taste, her magnetism is itself a faded 

glory, but intensely interesting still. Had she been 

moulded otherwise in early days, how grand her life 

might have been, and how she might have blessed 

humanity! Her face in the long banqueting hall and 

picture gallery is remarkable for an expression of that 

duplicity which characterized her intercourse with her 

best and bravest subjects. The expression of her face 

in our day has been much improved by modern artists, 

and, I doubt not, is ideal. The palace is heavy and 

cold looking, and one misses the warmth, the life, the 

glow of human forms and voices. 

11 "We never speak our deepest feelings ; 
Our holiest hopes have no revealings, 
Save in the gleams that light the face." 



88 REMINISCENCES. 

In silence, but with a tumult of emotions, we turned 
from the palace of Holyrood and its environments, 
after a lingering look at the chambers of ancient 
royalty, at the narrow, winding stone stairway closed 
by the low postern, lighted by little windows, all sug- 
gestive of the dark intrigues which the Stuart race of 
kings never scrupled to project. This venerable seat 
of royalty was once a convent, and, like many others, 
was founded by David I. early in the twelfth century. 
Queen Mary's apartments are very interesting. They 
remain as they were when occupied by the unhappy 
princess. On the opposite side of the court are the 
state apartments, a colonnade upon all sides looking 
out upon this court. To the palace is attached a 
handsome park, and the whole is shadowed by Salis- 
bury Crags and Arthur's Seat. The latter is a rocky 
upheaval 822 feet high, and is celebrated for many 
historical events. 

The day was beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, as we 
reached the top of Nelson's Monument on Calton Hill. 
The city lay at our feet, a busy hive of industries, in 
many cases perchance, of ugly industries, with an out- 
put of evil contiuually. But it was only a fair scene 
at that distance; and so we mused and admired. Far 
off was the quiet sea, with promontory and bay and 
the Frith of Forth like a wide gateway for the silver 
sea to thrust in its surplus waters. Through the clear 
atmosphere could be seen the Bass Rock and the 
towers of Tantallon Castle on its rocky crest. There 
the haughty Douglass once held almost regal court, 
and with that pride that " goeth before destruction," 
menaced the throne of the Stuarts with his power and 



HISTORIC PLACES. 89 

prowess. The Bass Rock, however, possessed the 
keenest interest; for in its dark dungeon the martyrs 
suffered in the flesh, while they sang praises to God 
and gave thanks to him for permitting them to suffer 
shame for his name. 

Calton Hill rises abruptly to a height of three hun- 
dred and fifty-five feet and seems to terminate the 
growth of the new town to the east. Waterloo Place 
is located at the terminus of Prince's Street. On this 
space the Post-office, Bridewell and the Jail are situ- 
ated, and leading up from this place is the avenue to 
Calton Hill. There is a handsome monument on it in 
honor of Professor Dugald Stewart, the eminent Scot- 
tish metaphysician, who aimed his blows at the infidel 
metaphysics of Hume and the rationalism of France. 
The National Monument in memory of the heroes 
who fell at Waterloo is still unfinished. The whole 
crown of the hill is adorned with promenades and used 
as a public park. 

We have not forgotten the Grassmarket under the 
audience of the frowning guns of the castle. It is now 
simply a very wide street bounded on either side by 
old buildings and used as a grain market. It is very 
innocent and quiet looking at this date; but a wail 
comes from the dust of centuries which guides to a 
circle of stones out in the street, the spot where the 
martyrs laid their heads upon the block in defense of 
Christ's crown and covenant. 

Looking out on this street from a gentle elevation 
is a court of the dead for many generations. It is 
Greyfriar's church-yard of fragrant memory. It was , 
long ago a garden and a burial place for a monastery, 



90 REMINISCENCES. 

and four hundred years of interments have formed a 
crust of three feet over some of the most precious dust 
of the ages. Here lie James Renwick, the Marquis 
of Argyle and many other noble martyrs for the truth 
of Christ, "who loved not their lives unto the death." 
They sleep together, and the whole spot is covered 
with a dense growth of most fragrant mint which 
emits savory odors like the memory of the sleepers. 
A monument tells the story of these martyrs. 

On the other side of this city of the dead and 
branching from it is the long, narrow, dark and 
ghastly avenue of death, where the fifteen hundred 
Covenanter prisoners from Rullion Green and Both- 
well Bridge languished and starved among the graves 
for eight months, without shelter from winter's storm, 
till most of them were taken to the "building of God 
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." The 
daisies now star the beautiful grass, and all is peaceful 
as a summer day. What hath God wrought by these 
martyrs as instruments? Would that we clung to 
their faith with a grasp as strong and undying as 
theirs! God will yet require it at our hands, if we 
permit his precious truth, even little by little, to slip 
out of mind. One of the intensely interesting spots 
is the flat stone upon which the parchment was spread 
in 1638, containing the National Covenant. We stood 
supporting ourselves against the iron railing that en- 
closes the stone and called up the very presence of 
that scene that still speaks of an exalted heroism and 
an undying patriotism born of the kingdom of heaven 
and echoing still the sublimity and pathos of the act 
all along the line of the succeeding generations. 



THE SCOTCHMAN. 9 1 

Among the modern monuments in Greyfriar's 
church-yard are those of Dr. Thomas McCrie and Rev. 
Adam Gib. Most of the old monuments are built 
into the wall of the yard. One is in memory of 
George MacKenzie, the King's advocate in persecuting 
times, and whose record is deeply stained with blood. 
It is in the form of a temple. Mothers were wont in 
other days to bring their refractory children to terms 
by a threat to shut them up at night in the enclosure 
where bloody MacKenzie lies. 

Instead of walls and gates and bars, the old"Edina, 
Scotia's darling seat," is enclosed within a new city. 
The historic part is thus preserved and protected. The 
combination of the old and the new is literally a stone 
city that seems to have arisen out of a rock bed as 
part of itself. The new structures, as well as the old, 
have broad foundations. They intend to stay. The 
thick walls and buttresses are elements of strength and 
solidity and are never sacrificed to mere attractiveness 
and airiness. They are the embodiment of Scotch 
characteristics, the nation impressed upon its architec- 
ture, the life and history of the people written in stone, 
graven in the rock. The historic Scotchman has the 
same general features, sturdy, fearless, with a firm and 
sinewy grip upon the underlying principles of God's 
Eternal Truth that cannot be moved or shaken. In it 
lies the secret of that determined purpose that has 
distinguished Scotchmen in the records of the past. 
Everything earthly, however, has its ebb and flow, and, 
as in our own land, spiritual life has fallen into the 
under-tow that leads to a struggle to preserve the 
faith once delivered to the saints. But God has not 



92 REMINISCENCES. 

left himself in this land without a witness. There are 
brave and true hearted ones holding aloft the banner 
of truth and praying and waiting for God's time to 
revive his work and turn back the current of ritualism 
and rationalism. 

Edinburgh represents Scottish literature and refine- 
ment and has done so for a long series of years. 
Passing along the principal thoroughfares and meeting 
the people, strangers cannot fail to notice the evidences 
of gentility in the quiet, subdued manner and in the 
chaste and becoming attire. Especially is this so 
along Prince's Street. It is a wide and handsome 
avenue about one mile in length, the houses being 
built only on one side. The other side opens into a 
capacious valley that was once a loch, but is now 
artistically laid out in walks and flower plots, smooth 
lawns and crystal fountains. This handsome street 
and the valley run at right angles to the old part of 
the city, so that one passes through the dim vista of 
years into the new and beautiful with very little effort. 
The goods displayed in the windows along Prince's 
Street are arranged in excellent taste; but persons en- 
tering are not urged, nor even asked to purchase. 
They are permitted to examine them to their hearts' 
content ; but the vender usually neither converses nor 
betrays any wish to sell what he holds for that 
purpose. 

There is no more interesting city than Edinburgh. 
The memory of it is food for years. Of all cities, 
from our standpoint, it has the greatest number of 
features to make life desirable. On the Sabbath the 
streets, even the main thoroughfares, were as quiet as 



CHANGING. 93 

the most secluded rural place. Not a vehicle was seen 
or heard. When the hour for church service came, 
the streets thronged with serious faces in neat and 
clean, but not gaudy attire; and it was easy to con- 
clude they sought their respective churches for worship. 
This is their habit, their inheritance from John Knox, 
improved upon in after years as the second Reforma- 
tion came on. Woe to the influence that would change 
this peaceful atmosphere into one of bustle and 
worldly pleasure as is being done elsewhere! 

It is sad to know that along with the new life, the 
handsome public buildings, tasteful homes and streets 
and costly and beautiful churches, the religious life 
here, as almost everywhere, is grasping for the sensa- 
tional to stimulate failing spirituality. The effects of 
such a course cannot yet be seen; but coldness and 
indifference are sure to follow. Sensationalism is 
intoxication, and the stimulant must be increased con- 
tinually to satisfy the craving. Progress in the divine 
life is necessary to its existence, and it is the joy of the 
believer and the food of the soul to get new views of 
divine truth, new views of God's providential dealings 
with us, not only in great events, but in the atoms that 
turn the scale and give the balance here or there. 
That which merely excites the nervous system and 
stimulates the brain only leads into forbidden paths 
and does not nourish the soul, nor give it healthful 
longing for spiritual growth and enjoyment. There 
can be no higher intellectual enjoyment than the study 
of the doctrines of God's holy Word that distil as the 
dew in their emanation from the divine mind. 



94 REMINISCENCES. 



VI. 

The interesting places in Scotland are close together, 
so that a few miles upon the railway brings a traveler 
from one of these places to another. They are indeed 
in a cluster and, in some measure, each dependent 
upon the other. Thirty-six miles north of Edinburgh 
is Stirling, called "the city of the rock." It is a place 
of much historic interest. Stirling Castle, once the 
seat of royalty, is picturesquely situated upon a rocky 
height with drawbridge and moat, a stout gateway and 
portcullis and all the equipments of an ancient fortress. 
There are indications that the precipitous rock was 
used as a watch tower before the Roman invasion. It 
was probably used as such by the Scots in conquering 
the Picts. It was a place of great strength in ancient 
warfare and figured prominently in the struggles of 
Wallace and Bruce for the independence of Scotland. 
Modern warfare would tumble all these stones into a 
mighty heap with a few blasts. But in its day it was 
defiant and impregnable. 

During the reign of Malcom Canmore, Stirling be- 
came the capital city. Within the walls of the castle 
the Parliament House, the palace and chapel still 
stand. It was one of the favorite homes of the Stuarts. 
Here James II. was born, and in the Douglass room 



STIRLING. 95 

this potentate, in a fierce dispute with the Earl of 
Douglass, enraged with his insolence, killed him. He 
then pitched him out of a second story window, and 
the ill-fated earl lies buried where he fell. James III. 
spent most of his time in the castle, and, broken- 
hearted, rode from this place to meet his foul death in 
a little hamlet near by. Here James V. was crowned, 
and his favorite walk about half-way up the rugged 
steep through a tangle of bushes and trailing vines is 
still pointed out. Queen Mary was brought here when 
a helpless infant to be crowned Queen of the Scots. 
So also was James VI., John Knox preaching the 
coronation sermon. Among the relics exhibited are a 
communion table used by John Knox, dated 1500, and 
the pulpit he used when in Stirling. 

The view from the Castle wall is magnificent. The 
battle-field of Bannockburn can be distinctly seen, as 
also the bit of forest land which deceived the English. 
The windings of the Forth upon which Stirling is 
situated lie like a band of gleaming silver upon the 
Carse of Stirling, its graceful links including forest and 
hill and dale, with grain fields and gardens and homes 
spread out upon the landscape. To the north the 
Ochil Hills in dark purple stand sentinel. Upon one 
of the spurs called Abbey Craig there is an elegant 
and imposing monument in the baronial style to Sir 
William Wallace. From west to north are the frontier 
Grampians, peaked and pinnacled with the summits of 
Ben Lomond, Ben Cruachan and many others. It 
certainly is one of the most gorgeous and delightful 
panoramic views to be seen anywhere. 

Stirling is near the border of the Highlands, and 



g6 reminiscences. 

Gaelic names are abundant. These names have a 
German sound and remind one of the fact that the 
Gael has some of the features of his kindred, being an 
offshoot of the same great family. Greyfriar's church 
is in the shadow of the Castle, and has an interesting 
burial ground attached. Many of the stones are so 
old as to bear inscriptions in the early English. There 
are also handsome statues of the most celebrated mar- 
tyrs and leaders in Scotland's reforming times. A 
group in Parian marble of the Wigtown martyrs, 
Margaret McLachlan, Margaret Wilson and her young 
sister, the last leaning over an open Bible, is most 
tender and touchingly beautiful. The figures are life 
size, and all are enclosed in a glass covering. The 
statue of Ebenezer Erskine is among the rest. 

On the slope of the Castle hill is the church building 
where Rev. Ebenezer Erskine preached at the time of 
the defection in the Church of Scotland that led to the 
Secession in 1733. It was in this his own church that 
he was forbidden to preach by the magistrates. He 
came to the church as usual on the Sabbath after the 
deposition of the brethren for conscience' sake, and 
found the church door locked and the people assem- 
bled outside. As was his custom he carried his Bible 
with him, and to avoid acts of violence in forcing open 
the doors, he led the way for the vast assemblage of 
people to an open space beneath the frowning battle- 
ments of the Castle, with the Grampian hills in the 
distance, the links of the Forth and the beautiful 
landscape around. But that which added significance 
and sublimity to the scene was the earnest congrega- 
tion of pious worshipers, who listened devoutly to the 



OLD PLACES. 



97 



solemn truths uttered by their minister with unusual 
earnestness. The church building has a long sloping 
lawn in front, is large and in good condition, with two 
front doors and an ornamental window. It has an air 
of country quiet now, and at the Union of the Seces- 
sion and Relief Churches in 1847, went over to the 
United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Erskine's 
remains lie in a mausoleum in front of the church. 
The old bridge of Stirling still spans the Tay. Near 
it the battle of Stirling was fought in 1 297, Sir William 
Wallace gaining the victory over the English. Cam- 
buskenneth Abbey lies in the valley of the Forth. 
The tower remains entire and is a fine specimen of 
Gothic architecture. The murdered James III. and 
his Queen were interred near the high altar. Recently 
the remains were reinterred, and Queen Victoria has 
erected a handsome tomb to the memory of her kins- 
man. In honor of the dead Queen, a princess of 
Denmark, the arms of Scotland and Denmark are 
united. Important lessons can be learned here as we 
listen to the voices of a time long past. They are full 
of meaning, full of the struggles and the achings and, 
perchance, the schemings of those whose dust and 
ashes are so quietly sleeping here. 

" How sweet to know 
The trials which we cannot comprehend 
Have each their own divinely proposed end. I 

ne traineth so 
For higher learning, ever onward reaching, 
For fuller knowledge yet and his own deep teaching." 

How sweet to know that God has a purpose from 
all Eternity, that not one of his purposes can ever fail 
7 



98 REMINISCENCES. 

of accomplishment. " I am the Lord, I change not." 
Judgment does not always immediately follow trans- 
gressions of the divine law, nor is the cause of the 
righteous always immediately vindicated; but every 
case is in the hands of an unerring Advocate who will 
render a perfect verdict, and who will in his own time 
bring to naught the devices of the wicked. 

The English kings for long years had an evil eye 
toward Scotland. They wanted her people to exist as 
vassals of the English crown, and hence took every 
advantage that such a policy mapped out. In Scotland 
the law of succession was often imperiled and open to 
disputes as to the rightful ruler. In the twelfth century 
a dispute of that nature was settled by elevating Mal- 
colm IV. to the Scottish throne. The new king was 
only twelve years of age and not at all capable of 
guiding the affairs of a nation, especially at a critical 
time. Having visited London, in his first interview 
with Henry II. of England, the English king treated 
him as a subordinate prince and subjected him to many 
indignities. Malcolm returned home to meet the in- 
dignation of the Scottish people and nobles, because 
he had submitted to the humiliation. They revolted 
against the idea of Henry's assuming to rule over 
them. Malcolm was succeeded by his brother William 
II., and the new monarch began his reign by courting 
the favor of the English king; but in the course of his 
reign the want of heroism in the Scottish king was 
rewarded by his capture and detention in England as 
a prisoner of war. His liberty was only obtained by 
the disgraceful surrender of the independence of Scot- 
land. This state of affairs was the signal for insurrec- 



SIR WILLIAM WALLACE. 99 

tions in Galloway and in the Highlands; everywhere 
there existed unrest and revolt. 

Near the close of the century Henry died and was 
succeeded by Richard Cceur de Lion. The attention 
of this monarch was wholly taken up with the third 
crusade which he headed in person. He wanted large 
sums of money to carry out his plans, and he obtained 
the desired supply by renouncing all pretended rights 
in the sovereignty over Scotland. By the middle of 
the thirteenth century new sovereigns in both king- 
doms were acting their part in life's drama. Henry 
III. was on the throne of England and at once began 
to assert the old claim. His successor was Edward I. 
his unscrupulous son. Soon after his accession, Alex- 
ander III. of Scotland was accidentally killed, and the 
heir to the throne was a little girl called Margaret of 
Norway. A long minority was much to be dreaded, 
and from other considerations her right to the throne 
was disputed, and Bruce and Baliol were brought for- 
ward by their respective partisans. In the meantime 
Edward resolved to annex the kingdom of Scotland to 
his own dominions, and the result of all this was that 
the land was rent by rival factions and surging and 
seething with discontent. 

At this important period William Wallace, rightfully 
called "The Deliverer of Scotland," came to the front. 
Personal wrong and grinding oppression roused him 
to revolt, and he nerved his arm to strike for the 
liberty of his country. It is well for Scotland to honor 
her Wallace. By his gallant struggle for freedom he 
enlisted the sympathies of the world in her behalf and 
opened the way for her future greatness. Sir William 



IOO REMINISCENCES. 

Wallace belonged to an ancient family whose home 
was Ellerslie near Paisley. He was muscular, well 
formed and of unusual strength and courage. Being 
taunted one day by some English officers at the garri- 
son about the depressed condition of the country, he 
slew them and raised the standard of revolt, anci col- 
lected a body of men to whom he imparted his own 
invincible spirit. 

A species of guerilla warfare was inaugurated which 
was very successful, especially in inspiring the people 
and uniting them to cast off the hated English yoke. 
In a spirit of revenge the English burned the house at 
Ellerslie and murdered lady Marian, the wife of Wal- 
lace. From that time forth Wallace gave his life to 
Scotland, and after a number of successful conflicts, 
was chosen by the people Guardian of the Kingdom. 
He at once began to reconstruct, to correct abuses 
and to establish defenses for the kingdom. Edward 
lost no time in preparing to invade and lay waste the 
kingdom. With an army of eighty thousand he 
marched into Scotland. Wallace meantime made 
haste to ? meet the emergency. At this turn in affairs 
the gallant deliverer encountered the selfish jealousy 
of the Scottish barons who were envious of his renown 
and military prowess, and at this critical time withheld 
their support, and Wallace was sacrificed. After the 
fatal battle of Falkirk he resigned the office of Guardian 
of Scotland, but was eventually captured through the 
treachery of a pretended friend, taken to London and 
there drawn and quartered after being subjected to 
most inhuman cruelties. 

Scotland now lay bleeding and at the mercy of Ed- 



BANNOCKBURN. I 01 

ward. A crisis was upon the nation, and after the 
ominous lull that precedes the storm Robert Bruce 
appeared upon the scene, caught up the banner of 
Scottish liberty and held it aloft till it waved free and 
untrammeled on the hard fought field of Bannockburn. 
The whole course of events that rapidly flowed at this 
time reads like a romance. It is intensely interesting 
as the unfolding of one of God's gracious purposes to 
a people that he designed for a place in the forefront 
of his army against spiritual wickedness in high places. 
Every one who loves Scotland remembers Bannock- 
burn with kindling enthusiasm. It was the full fledging 
place of her liberty that had been nurtured by the 
blood of Wallace and thousands of her sons, until 
strength was given her to cast off her chains and her 
slavery and be a free people. It is no wonder then 
that we, with Scotch ancestry, looked out upon the 
scenes here with a full heart From the Wallace 
Monument where there are many relics of the time a 
multitude of thoughts came pressing forward telling a 
weird and mornful story of Scotland's woes and how 
her enemies at this very outlook were scattered as 
chaff before the wind, and the independence of the 
country was established on a solid basis — a basis se- 
cured at a fearful cost. Hence it has always been 
prized. They planted their feet upon it determined to 
stand there, and have since then resolutely resisted 
every effort to enslave them, whether coming from 
Church or State. No mortal can estimate the grand 
results of the struggle maintained until victory was 
won. The harvest is being gathered through the 
generations in the impulse given to the spirit of na- 



102 REMINISCENCES. 

tional freedom, and the nations of Christendom are 
taking to themselves the boon more and more. 

Like the settings of a mosaic, the memorable 
places in Scotland have all their distinctive position 
in history, all their several shares in completing the 
pattern, all 

" Some little chips to cut with care minute, 
Or tint, or grave, or polish." 

Of the setting, the city of Perth is among the fairest. 
In historical antiquity and natural beauty it ranks 
with the highest. It is situated upon a broad sweep 
of the river Tay, a majestic stream whose home is in 
the Highlands. This city is called the gate of the 
Highlands. Its original name is said to have been 
Bertha or Berth, and as the initial letters in the Gaelic 
are interchangeable, in the course of events the name 
became Perth. There is a tradition that the city was 
built by the Romans under Agricola, A. D. 83. In 
early times.it was the most important town in Scotland 
and was a prominent figure in the wars and sieges and 
raids thai so often desolated the land. This city was a 
center for the operations of Sir William Wallace, and 
afterward of Robert Bruce in rescuing the crown of 
Scotland from "proud Edward's power." The city 
was captured by Cromwell for the commonwealth, 
1 65 1. The last scene, however, of carnage and deso- 
lation was in 1745, when a party of Highlanders took 
possession of the city for Prince Charles Edward. 

Perth was one of the royal residences of the kings 
till James I. was foully murdered in 1437 within the 
walls of one of its monasteries. James, the first Stuart 



A REFORMER. 



o3 



king, was talented and highly cultivated. He had 
been imprisoned in England in his youth by Henry 
IV.; but he was permitted to pursue his education 
until he became an accomplished scholar as well as 
a master in the science of government. To this was 
added shrewdness, sagacity and indomitable courage. 
When the youthful monarch gained possession of his 
throne the country was the scene of much disorder 
for want of a firm hand to enforce the laws. Since 
the death of his ancestor, Robert Bruce, the power of 
the nobles had increased, while that of the crown had 
proportionally waned. When James became fully aware 
of the turbulence of the nobles he exclaimed earnestly, 
"Let God but grant me life, and throughout my do- 
minions I shall make the key keep the castle and the 
bush secure the cow, though I myself should lead the 
life of a dog to accomplish it." 

He at once took steps to humble the power of the 
feudal aristocracy. Some of them were imprisoned 
for their lawless deeds, and others were treated with 
great severity. The Highlands especially were in a 
state bordering on anarchy. The chiefs Jiving in 
almost inaccessible fastnesses surrounded by their vas- 
sals, often defied the law and robbed and murdered at 
their pleasure. To meet this difficulty James marched 
north at the head of an army and summoned a parlia- 
ment to meet in the strong castle of Inverness. He 
ordered the chiefs of the marauding clans to attend 
this meeting of Parliament, and they did not venture 
to disobey. As they entered the hall of this castle 
fifty of the turbulent chiefs were seized and put in 
irons for trial. Two of them were beheaded for mur- 



104 REMINISCENCES. 

der and oppression. Meanwhile James prosecuted his 
plans for controlling the nobility and promoting the 
interests of the kingdom; but some of the nobles of 
his court hated him and entered into a conspiracy to 
take his life. The king resolved to keep the holiday 
festival in Perth, and hither he came, though repeatedly 
warned of the hostility of some of his court. On the 
fatal evening the king and his retinue were occupied 
in amusements till near midnight. At a given signal 
the conspirators entered and found the king talking 
gaily with the queen and her ladies. He soon discov- 
ered their murderous intent and fled to a vault in the 
monastery, whither they pursued him and stabbed him 
to the heart. 

Previous to that period Parliament often met here. 
It was considered the metropolis of Scotland and was 
celebrated for the number and grandeur of its ecclesi- 
astical buildings. The only one which has survived 
the stormy period of the Reformation is St. John's 
church, founded by David I., the date mentioned in 
the charter being 1130. In this church John Knox 
preached his celebrated sermon exposing the idolatry 
of Rome, which so roused the indignation of the mul- 
titude against Romish impositions that when next day 
they were insulted by a priest, the destruction of the 
monasteries and all Roman Catholic religious houses 
began and was continued until the devastation was 
complete. Knox disapproved the mob-spirit and said 
it was done by the "rascal multitude." It is significant 
that at the present time we are not only aping the 
ritualism, the grand music and the vestments of that 
day, but the architecture of our churches is taking on 



QUIET WORSHIP. 105 

the same style, and there are indications that we are 
running into religious establishments, self-appointed, 
and consequently exceedingly dangerous. 

After each visitation Perth has risen more beautiful 
than before, and so it is fair Perth still. The ancient 
palace of Scone is one of the attractions. It is situated 
outside the city limits, and is at present the seat of the 
Earl of Mansfield. When the Culdee worship pre- 
vailed in the North of Scotland, one of their simple 
religious houses was erected beside the palace. When 
costly religious establishments were beginning to 
flourish in the Roman Catholic Church, this place of 
worship was superseded by an abbey. The early 
Scottish kings were all crowned at Scone, upon the 
famous coronation stone now in Westminster Abbey 
beneath the throne. It is said to have been transferred 
from Ireland to Scotland by the Scots. 

We spent a Sabbath in Perth. It was a beautiful 
day, and all was as quiet in the streets of the city as 
if we were far from the haunts of men, till three 
church bells sounded in concert, making a musical 
combination that will ever be a reminder of Perth and 
its quiet worship day. At the proper hour we found 
our way to the Original Secession church, Rev. Robert 
Morton pastor. The worshipers were attentive and 
gave earnest heed to the words of truth and soberness 
that fell from the lips of the pastor. We worshiped 
with this people both at the morning and afternoon 
service. It was in this church that Rev. William 
Wilson, one of the four original Seceders who left the 
Established Church on account of her Moderatism, 
preached. Rev. Mr. Wilson was related to the mar- 



106 REMINISCENCES. 

tyred Guthrie of Stirling who suffered in the Grass- 
market, Edinburgh. His father had been compelled 
to fly to Holland in persecuting times, but came back 
in the train of William, Prince of Orange. Mr. 
Wilson was a diligent student and a preacher of great 
power and unction. His theology was a living, active 
principle flowing out from a pure perennial fountain. 
When quite a youth he joined the reforming party in 
the Established Church, and ever stood firm and un- 
flinching against the dead formality that crept on the 
Church at the beginning of the eighteenth century. 
He was the literary leader of the Secession of 1733 
and their first theological professor, and was held in 
very high esteem by his brethren. 

In 1740, the first Sabbath after the final act of cen- 
sure was passed upon the seceding brethren, Mr. 
Wilson was refused admittance to his own church by 
the civil authorities. He spent that morning in prayer, 
and the breakfast was almost neglected by the whole 
family. One aged servant, who had been in the family 
from her youth, on that morning remembered vividly 
the scenes of the Covenanting days, when she crept 
stealthily out with food to a wild and gloomy moss 
where Mr. Wilson's father was concealed. This 
memory made her anxious for the son, and as Mr. 
Wilson passed out of his closet toward his church, she 
said, "Tak' tent, Mr. William, tak' tent what yere 
doing; for I fear if things gang on this way, I'll get 
yere meat to carry to the moor, as I did yere gude 
father's afore ye." A great multitude thronged the 
church, and as Mr. Wilson requested admission and 
was refused, a low murmur ran through the throng. 



REV. MR. WILSON. \0"J 

The aged ones wept, while the younger ones threat- 
ened violence. Mr. Wilson exclaimed, "The Master 
whom I serve is the Prince of Peace," and as the 
words rang over the wedged multitude, the tumult 
was stayed, and the vast assemblage followed the 
minister to the Glover's yard, where he preached a 
powerful sermon from the text, "Let us go out, 
therefore, with him without the camp bearing his re- 
proach." 

The Synod of Stirling and Perth met in Perth in 
1732, and as retiring moderator Rev. Ebenezer Erskine 
preached his famous sermon from the text, " The stone 
which the builders refused is become the head stone 
of the corner." This sermon was the starting-point 
of the Associate Presbyterian Church which grew into 
a power in after years. 

Monday morning we strolled over the city, taking 
in Kinnoull Hill with its cliffs and woods and the two 
handsome parks called North Inch and South Inch. 
These parks are both on the right bank of the Tay. 
They contain each about one hundred acres, and the 
city lies between them. The puzzling question is 
sometimes put, "Why is Perth the smallest city in the 
world?" The answer is, " It is situated between two 
Inches." 

We spent a part of Monday in the hospitable home 
and in the delightful companionship of Rev. Robert 
Morton and family. There is nothing more precious 
on earth than the meeting of kindred spirits. Mind 
recognizes mind as readily as faces are recognized, 
with this difference, that mind discovers and selects its 
counterpart, though they may never have met before. 



IOS REMINISCENCES. 

We also enjoyed, and profited by, the acquaintance of 
Mr. Dewar, then editor of the Perthshire Courier. 

We had been told, when the prospect of this visit 
was but idle and misty dreaming, that Dunkeld was a 
jewel — that it was indeed "beauty lying in the lap of 
terror," and such we found it, after a rapid ride fifteen 
miles north of Perth. At the station Birnam Hill, 
bristling with its old records, looked invitingly upon 
us, and the station-master, a fine specimen of a 
Scotchman, read our thoughts and said, "You can 
make the top of Birnam Hill before you sleep." He 
procured a small boy to set us on the right path, and 
we began the climb at once of 1324 feet. The way 
was through a mass of ferns and shrubs and trees and 
tangled vines so dense that night seemed impending. 
But we pushed on to the top where we found " Great 
Birnam Wood," associated with the usurper Macbeth 
and his dethronement by Malcom Canmore, a wood 
no longer. The trees have long since disappeared, 
except two in Dunkeld, said to be more than 1000 
years old. Had it not been for the heather in bloom- 
ing buds, the top of Birnam Hill would have been 
bleak and bare. 

On one bold brow overlooking the Tay was a cairn, 
or mound of small stones, from the top of which a 
British flag was floating, and away on the most com- 
manding summit another cairn and flag relieved the 
loneliness. Not a sign of human habitation was to be 
seen. However, it was far from lonely to us. At the 
base of the hill is a gorge traversed by the Tay, called 
the "Mouth of the Highlands." Here we saw the 
heather for the first time in pride upon its native 






THE STORY OF MACBETH. 109 

heath, and we sat down among the branches and 
stroked it kindly as we would the friend of our child- 
hood. Every outlook was full of meaning. There 
were hills and gorges to the right of us, hills and 
gorges to the left of us, and the same in front and 
rear. It is all classic ground immortalized by Shake- 
speare in his tragedy of Macbeth. He found the tale 
of Macbeth in Scottish chronicles, and he dressed it 
in the imagery of his fruitful brain as an example of 
wicked ambition and the remorse that succeeds it. 
The story is confined to the Scottish period in the 
eleventh century. In the ninth century the Scots and 
Picts became one people under one sovereign, Kenneth 
Macalpine, an able and vigorous prince. Two hundred 
years of invasion and robbery and bloodshed brings 
us to the period of the story. Duncan ascended the 
Scottish throne A. D. 1033. Macbeth was the ambi- 
tious chief of the remote district of Rosshire. His 
wife, lady Macbeth, was of the royal line. In her 
youthful days the succession was disputed, and she 
was compelled to fly for her life. She sought refuge 
at the stronghold of Macbeth and eventually became 
his wife. Revenge and ambition operating together 
prompted these two to murder the " gracious Duncan," 
and Macbeth mounted the throne. The chief of the 
clan of the murdered king resisted his authority and 
was joined by Macduff, chief of the crown rights of 
Fife. These two powerful chiefs determined to place 
the rightful heir, Malcolm eldest son of Duncan, on 
the throne of his ancestors. The rival claimants with 
a considerable following met in mortal combat on this 
hill, at that time "Great Birnam Wood," and one of 



IIO REMINISCENCES. 

Macbeth's strongholds. The usurper was defeated 
and utterly routed, though not killed at that time. 
Ultimately Duncan's son, Malcolm Canmore, was 
seated on the throne, and his judicious and energetic 
reign forms an important era in the early history of 
Scotland. 

There is enough in the unvarnished history of 
Macbeth to give genius such as Shakespeare had a 
foundation upon which to construct a thrilling story; 
but who does not know that real life is stranger than 
fiction? As the infinite transcends the finite so our 
lives woven by the great Architect stand out infinitely 
superior to any creations of the finite. Malcolm Can- 
more was crowned at Scone near Perth, and out of 
gratitude to Macduff he rewarded him and his suc- 
cessors, the Lords of Fife, with the important honor 
and privilege of placing the kings of Scotland on the 
throne and of leading the van of the Scottish army 
wherever the royal banner was displayed. The honor 
of the chiefs of Fife was transferred with the crown 
when James VI. became king of England, and they 
retain it to this day. Thus the crown of England was 
as much honored by the alliance of their Queen's 
grand-daughter with Macduff as Scotland was honored 
by the advent of a princess. The Macduff estate be- 
longs to the present Duke of Fife. 

While we gazed rain clouds began to obscure the 
hill-tops in front of us and to drop their burdens, 
sometimes in driving sheets that began to approach 
us. We heeded the warning and began the descent 
so vigorously, we lost our way amid the dark under- 
growth upon the sides. Visions of the " Babes in the 



DUNKELD. I I I 

Wood" flitted for the moment; but at length we 
struck the path and arrived at our hotel at 10 p. m; at 
which time the twilight still lingered and the rain 
clouds were gone. 

Dunkeld is of unknown antiquity. In the Pictish 
period it was often the seat of royalty. It is clustered 
upon the Tay. and literally surrounded with great 
rocky upheavels so precipitous that they cannot in 
many places be scaled. Years ago, these towering 
craigs were bare. Neither forest nor shrubs adorned 
the great seamy sides and gorges in the brown rock. 
They looked so savage and gloomy that they prompted 
a criticism from Robert Burns. Some genius of the 
forest concluded to experiment by shooting quantities 
of seeds of different kinds of trees and plants in the 
fissures. In due time a thick growth of tree and plant 
life appeared, and now the leafy bowers and shades of 
verdure upon Craigy-Barns and other points and craigs 
are charming. 

Dunkeld has a hoary cathedral of great interest. 
Upon the spot a religious house was founded by the 
students of Columba about the time of the conversion 
of the northern Picts from Druidism. Columba, in the 
true missionary spirit, bearded Druidism in its strong- 
hold, enduring hardships, pushing his own way and 
organizing centers wherever he could till the whole 
Highlands were permeated. It was no known fault 
of his that his work was eventually exchanged for 
spiritual decline along with Rome. That decline had 
the promise of better days, however. Gray hairs are 
often here and there upon the Church, and she knows 
it not. Dunkeld possessed the primacy of the king- 



1 I 2 REMINISCENCES. 

dom for some time, having an illustrious monastery 
where literary and scientific studies were pursued as 
well as theology. The religion of the Culdees was 
comparatively pure, and they were most self-sacrificing 
and indefatigable missionaries. 

Almost all the learning was possessed by the clergy 
during the dark ages. They were not- only the recipi- 
ents of the knowledge of history and science, but they 
studied medicine and the arts. They were the sculp- 
tors, the painters and the poets of the age. The 
mouldering remains of those magnificent baronial and 
ecclesiastical dwellings were the work of their hands. 
They must have toiled for the love of it; for they were 
herded together in communities and never permitted 
the pleasure of ruling "wife and wee uns" at their 
own fireside. The nobility at this period thought it 
was beneath their dignity — it was weak and womanish 
— to spend time on learning; and not a single Scottish 
baron could write his own name. The wife of Mal- 
colm Canmore, Queen Margaret, could read, and she 
encouraged letters; but her royal husband disdained 
the art as entirely too stupid for a great prince. When 
the Stuart kings came to the throne learning began 
slowly to assert itself. An amusing story is told of a 
Highland chief who attended a meeting of parliament 
in Edinburgh with a suitable retinue, and when the 
time for return came, he was accompanied by the king, 
who was perhaps James I. and who desired to take a 
hunting tour through the Highlands. The Stuart 
kings were famous, in modern parlance, for " swinging 
around the circle." The chief was anxious to entertain 
the king in his castle with the honor and magnificence 



ILLITERATE CHIEFTAINS. I I 3 

due to royalty, and he hastened a swift messenger to 
his wife with a missive bearing two words which he 
intended to represent "spits and ranges;" but his im- 
perfect chirography made the reading appear to his 
wife, "pikes and riders." It was no uncommon thing 
for a chieftain in those days to be engaged in a hand 
to hand conflict when he went from home on affairs 
of state, and the spirited lady with true wifely instincts 
hastily armed two hundred vassals and despatched 
them to meet her lord. When the king saw the for-:* 
midable array of "warriors true," he was greatly 
alarmed, thinking there was treachery. But the ludi- 
crous mistake was explained, and perhaps the chief 
took a few more lessons in penmanship and deported 
himself more intelligently in the future. 

Dunkeld House, near the cathedral, is an incomplete 
palace of the late Duke of Athole. It is now the 
residence of the Duchess dowager of Athole. It has 
beautiful and extensive grounds, being traversed by 
fifty miles of walks and thirty miles of carriage drives. 
The whole is enclosed in a high stone wall, so that the 
lowly peasant can see none of its beauties, except the 
graceful tree tops that will not hide themselves. 

Eager to get on in our sight-seeing, we were soon 
aboard the train for Blair Athole, a small and picturesque 
village among the Highlands belonging to the Athole 
family. Blair Castle, the seat of the Dukes of Athole 
for many generations, is situated on an eminence 
rising from the Garry river, and is surrounded on all 
sides by the most majestic of Highland scenery. The 
huge rocky shoulders of Schiehallion rise bold and 
stately to an altitude of 3533 feet. Ben-y Gloe, the 
8 



114 REMINISCENCES. 

king of a rocky range, is smooth and perfectly bare. 
Its brown surface, mottled with silver grey, glistened 
in the sunlight, as if some fearful monster, tired of its 
own weight, had fallen asleep in the clouds. At its 
feet a cluster of neat little cottages were nestled. One 
no larger than an ordinary chicken coop, neat as a pin, 
and with vines and flower plots, was the summer home 
of two cultivated ladies from Edinburgh. Ben-y 
Vrackie towers in another direction above billowy 
hills and slopes and ranges. 

The Tilt river literally tilts and leaps and foams over 
a rocky bed down from these heights, being joined on 
its journey by little tributaries that dart and dance and 
brawl till their golden waters are lost in the Tilt. The 
glen through which the river passes, called Glen Tilt, 
is of exceeding beauty. The God of nature has per- 
fected the adornments. The hand of man is not seen, 
not even in broken shrubs and trees, nor in mutilated 
fern beds. Such trespass is not permitted. All this 
stretch of hill and dale for miles the prosperity of the 
Duke of Athole, of an ancient and honorable family 
that gave kings to Scotland from Duncan to Alexan- 
der. Blair Athole is one of the first places mentioned 
in Scottish history. The old castle is not occupied by 
the present Duke. He resides in a stately modern 
castle in the midst of a handsome park near Blair 
Athole. The large park connected with the establish- 
ment is a marvel of beauty. The old parish church is 
near by, and in a vault under one of the aisles of this 
church was interred the remains of John Grahame of 
Claverhouse, the brutal persecutor, and who was killed 
at the battle of Killiecrankie shortly after he was made 



THE PROSPECT. I I 5 

Viscount Dundee. The darling hills of the Highlands 
are poetry itself; and to them is added the variety of 
maiden and lover, the chase, tragedy and carnage to 
tinge and shadow them with the drapery of romance. 
These hills and haunts have been wrought in glowing 
colors by gifted pens, and heroic figures stand out in 
bold relief as warriors. But how different were they 
from the Christian warrior who combats the evils that 
enslave men, and who severs the chains which bind 
the oppressed! When will men learn that only by the 
peaceful influence of the gospel in the hands of the 
heralds of peace can turmoil and passion in all its 
envy and vindictiveness be put away from the earth? 
These hills and valleys have been reddened with the 
blood of many slain. The present gives promise that 
those bloody scenes have gone forever. The promise 
is in the religion of the people. 



Il6 REMINISCENXES, 



VII. 

The earliest inhabitants of Great Britain were of 
Celtic origin, it is thought, and passed over from Gaul 
long before the Romans had any knowledge of the 
country. The difference that now exists in language 
and manners is due to accidental and local circum- 
stances. The names of rivers, mountains, &c, indicate 
a common origin. The Romans found Scotland in- 
habited by twenty-one tribes, similar to the tribes of 
Indians in our own land. They were a pastoral people. 
Their religion w T as Druidism, and the manner of bury- 
ing their dead was similar to that of the natives of 
America. Their ornamental works in stone and 
earthen ware that have been rescued from old ruins 
are also similar. The tribes were all designated Cale- 
donians by the Romans, meaning the people of the 
woods. When the Romans abdicated, the name 
"Caledonian" disappeared, and this same people were 
called Picts. Eventually a people called Scots passed 
over from the north of Ireland and established them- 
selves in Scotland. Fierce wars ensued; but as men- 
tioned before, in the ninth century the two nations, 
Picts and Scots, were united under one sovereign, 
Kenneth Macalpin. Both peoples were of Celtic 
origin, their union was a happy one, and the name 



THE HIGHLANDERS. I I 7 

« Scotland" eventually dispossessed all other names. 
The Saxons from England gradually took possession 
of the south, or Lowlands, of Scotland, and became 
fixed during the changes and enterprises of nations, 
while the Celts occupied the mountain fastnesses of the 
Highlands and retain to this day many of the features 
of a separate people. 

They have all along been distinguished for courage 
and hardihood. The mountain air, the outdoor life 
and their contempt for the enervating influences of a 
high civilization have made them robust and fearless. 
Deeds of daring and exalted trust characterized even 
the women. When some of the Highland clans raised 
the standard of rebellion in 17 15 and proclaimed the 
Pretender, a Catholic, as James VIII., the Lady of 
Culloden House, a Presbyterian, was mistress of the 
situation. The rebellious chiefs with their clansmen 
stormed Inverness and its castle, marched upon Cullo- 
den House and demanded its surrender. The master 
of the house, a descendant of one who had signed the 
Covenant, was from home, but the Lady of Culloden, 
equally faithful, replied, " My husband has left me the 
keys of this house with the custody of what is in it, 
and I will deliver them to none but himself." She 
then hastened to perfect the defenses, and James was 
repulsed. 

We were now fairly within the domain of the heroic 
Highlander, and night found us sheltered in a High- 
land cot at the north end of the Pass of Killiecrankie 
and at the edge of the village of Altgirneg. It was 
just such lodging as we desired. The lowly dwelling, 
the simple furnishing, the genuine kindness were rep- 



Il8 REMINISCENCES. 

resentative in character, but not more so than the 
small, sharp black eyes of our Highland hostess, who 
lived alone and could give us bits of history that were 
very entertaining. We slept soundly, fanned by moun- 
tain breezes and lulled by the now softly falling waters 
of the Garry, upon whose banks this dwelling was 
situated. The next morning we rose with the sun, 
and having previously arranged for an early breakfast, 
the porridge from meal of home manufacture, scone, 
butter, gooseberry jam and tea were served in our own 
room, and so early, the few inhabitants in this wild 
and romantic region were still asleep. The Scotch 
people do not move early in the morning. They 
realize that Rome was not built in a day and are, 
therefore, careful of their reserve force. At the north 
end of the Pass of Killiecrankie the Garry river ceases 
its dash and its roar, and is driven into narrow bounds 
by almost impassable cliffs. These cliffs are torn and 
rent into great fissures and deep gorges, rugged and 
hungry looking and as defiant and frowning as great 
Avild beasts at bay. From the top of these hanging cliffs 
the water seems to wind like a black serpent half hidden 
among the great fragments of rock. It is as if the 
huge mountain had been violently rent asunder to an 
unfathomable depth and the water had been thrust 
into the chasm as into a prison house. At intervals 
the water breaks into a cascade, and the transit of this 
volume of inky blackness into a tumbling mass reflects 
a rich golden tint that is most fascinating. 

This narrow Pass is fully two miles long, with an 
ever-changing variety of this sublime scenery. The 
whole is traversed by a roadway in excellent order, 






KILLIECRANKIE. I 1 9 

overhung in places with long mosses and ferns and 
heather, and the "bonnie blue bell." We walked on 
and on, with each new view a surprise and delight, till 
we reached Garry Bridge, beyond which was a stretch 
of meadow dotted with black-faced Highland sheep. 
Among the sheep in friendly companionship at least a 
dozen hares were feeding. But they quickly scampered 
into the deep copse at our approach. At another turn 
in the road, a pair of startled pheasants skipped from 
their hiding with a familiar whirr. Their habits are 
the same as the pheasants of the mountains of America, 
but the tail feathers are very long, drooping and of 
brilliant colors. 

This Pass is made famous by the battle of Killie- 
crankie, fought in July 1689, between the royal forces 
of William Prince of Orange and the Highland clans 
for James II., under the lead of Claverhouse, at this 
period Viscount Dundee. 

After the accession of William and Mary in 1688, 
Scotland had to be reconstructed in both Church and 
State. King William willingly permitted the Presby- 
terian form of Church government to prevail in 
Scotland, and the Parliament that met soon after in 
Edinburgh abolished Episcopacy. They then read 
over the Westminster Standards at full length and 
received them anew as the Standards of their faith. 
The Presbyterian Church was again recognized as the 
national Church; but there remained some elements 
of discord. The reconstruction of the civil power was 
very difficult, the obstacles resembling in many fea- 
tures the arduous and perplexing complications that 
presented themselves at the close of our civil war. 



120 REMINISCENCES. 

While the three estates of the realm were laboring to 
harmonize the factions, a civil war broke out in the 
Highlands. King James did not yield his crown 
without a struggle. He fixed upon Dundee for a 
leader and proposed active operations. The Highland 
clans at this period feared a strong and settled govern- 
ment, lest it would interfere with their marauding 
pursuits. They also hated the powerful family of 
Argyle whose vast estates had been declared forfeited 
by the Stuarts and bestowed upon some other clans, 
but which had now been restored and the clan received 
into favor by King William. Hence a coalition of 
clans with a promise of help from Ireland was projected 
in favor of the exiled dynasty. The Jacobite chiefs as 
they are known in history were all either Roman 
Catholics or Episcopalians. 

Dundee sent the fiery cross throughout the High- 
lands with the cry, "The mustering place is Lochabar," 
and with a small force pounced upon Perth, appropri- 
ated the public funds in the name of king James, 
dispersed the troops of king William and sent the 
officers prisoners to the Isle of Mull. Gathering force 
to his army he marched in the direction of Blair 
Athole and took possession of the important fortifica- 
tion and castle situated on an eminence commanding; 
the vale of the Garry and the Pass of Killiecrankie. 
It was only through this narrow Pass that the royal 
forces could reach the district of Athole, not even a 
foothold could be obtained on the sides of the wild 
rocky steeps that are a wall on either hand of this 
remarkable way. 

General Mackay led the royal forces up this narrow 



TUMMELL FALLS. 121 

and desolate Pass, and met the Highlanders a few rods 
north of this village of Altgirneg. The Highlanders 
were victorious; but as the clash of battle was fading 
out, Dundee fell dying, pierced by a bullet in a vital 
place. A black undressed stone, six or eight feet high, 
marks the spot where he fell. His death changed the 
defeat into victory for King William. 

At the bridge of Garry we left the highway to visit 
the Falls of Tummell and the Queen's View. Tum- 
mell river for some distance above the fall is a roaring 
cataract, and the leap when it comes is not a fearful 
one, but is rather a laughing, frolicking one, and must 
have brought pleasant thoughts to Queen Victoria as 
she sat upon a great rock and reveled in the scene. A 
monument now marks the spot where she sat. Balmoral 
Castle is not very far distant, and the Queen has visited 
all this magnificent scenery, often having to ride on 
horseback over the rocky and tangled steeps. 

It did add interest to the scenes to know that the 
Queen of all Britain was charmed with these views; 
not alone because she is Queen of a great people, but 
because her greatness has not despoiled her of true 
womanhood. She is the queen of virtue and gentle 
dignity in her own court. Her noble stand for wo- 
man's most exalted position has reflected throughout 
the land, and Britain's daughters are distinguished for 
modesty and gentility and the qualities which really 
beautify women. She must be a woman of force and 
persistence, notwithstanding she has little voice in state 
affairs, to so reform the court circles and impress her- 
self upon them in such a marked degree and preserve 
the deep-seated affection ol her people as well. A 






122 REMINISCENCES. 

distinguishing mark of leadership is the impress of 
one's self upon those around. 

In our journeyings it was an easy transition from 
the wild and absorbing beauty of the Highlands to 
hoary St. Andrews, its origin concealed by the mists 
of antiquity. We meet with similar transition in our 
lives by passing from one scene of pleasant labor to 
another totally different, but equally pleasant. It is 
that delightful variety that God often gives his children 
and which, over against the most harassing responsi- 
bilities, makes up the "all things that work together 
for good" for his children. From sorrow to gladness 
is often but an unexpected turn in some minute affair. 
The more unreservedly we give all our plans into God's 
hands, the less will we be burdened with the every day 
operations of life. 

St. Andrews sits by the sea and is fanned continu- 
ally by ocean breezes. Its chief attraction, however, 
is the memories that crowd around it and connect it 
intimately with the most interesting period in Scottish 
history. The Reformation from Popery took strong 
and healthy growth in St. Andrews, and as the first 
great Reformation which took place in Scotland, its 
echoes are reverberating there still. 

Before the dawn of day sends out its shadows there 
are unmistakable signs and sounds that tell the day is 
coming. It steals upon the senses of every living 
thing; even the atmosphere heralds the morning light. 
The same is true of the moral world. It is governed 
by the law of cycles; there is the midnight hour, and 
all the gradations till the light begins to struggle with 
the darkness, and finally to cast off its fetters. This 



ST. ANDREWS. I 23 

change is accompanied with significant signs not mis- 
taken by those who love and maintain a close walk 
with God. When Scotland was completely within the 
iron grasp of Rome the true witnesses were slain in 
the streets, and the Romish Church rejoiced over them 
and made merry. But ere long the spirit of life from 
God entered into them, and there were signs of ap- 
proaching revival of the true doctrines. 

In 1322 a German reformer, Walter Lollard, was 
burned at the stake at Cologne 'for preaching against 
the mass, extreme unction, penance and the domineer- 
ing authority of the Pope. His doctrines silently 
found their way into England and Scotland, and his 
followers, called Lollards, were zealously opposed to 
the Romish hierarchy. In 1324 John WycklifTe was 
born. He studied at Oxford, England, entered the 
priesthood and in 1 363 took his degree and began a 
course of lectures on divinity at Oxford, where he as- 
sailed the corruption of Rome and proclaimed the 
great doctrines of Christianity which it was the policy 
of that corrupt Church to conceal. He afterward held 
a conference with one of the Pope's commissioners 
which gave him such an insight into Papal doings that 
he styled the Pope Anti-Christ and began the work 
of translating the Scriptures into the English language 
and circulating them among the common people. He 
employed a great many poor priests, who went from 
village to village distributing parts of the Scriptures as 
fast as he translated them. The Papacy was alarmed, 
and he was ordered to appear before a Synod in Lon- 
don and answer for his conduct. His defense was 
unavailing. His books were ordered to be burned, 



1 24 REMINISCENCES. 

and he was banished from Oxford. He died soon 
after. He was a courageous and earnest man, who 
made such a strong impression upon his age that it 
glowed all along the years reaching to the Reforma- 
tion. 

The doctrines of Wyckliffe were eagerly received 
among the adherents of the Culdees in Scotland. 
The growth of these doctrines was such that the 
alarmed Romish powers, twenty-three years after his 
death, secured a statute for burning heretics. Accord- 
ingly, we find John Resby, an Englishman and a 
pupil of Wyckliffe, preaching his doctrines with great 
boldness and zeal to the Scottish common people who 
heard him gladly. He was apprehended on a charge 
of heresy and brought to trial, and after a most cour- 
ageous and eloquent defense, he was condemned to 
the flames. This intrepid witness and first martyr for 
the truth in Scotland was burned at Perth, 1407, along 
with his books and other writings. The .blood of the 
martyr proved the seed of the Church. Some of his 
books escaped the flames and were carefully preserved 
by his followers. They held secret meetings for dis- 
cussing his doctrines and resolutely determined to 
adhere to them, although afraid openly to avow them. 
It is certain that the new opinions steadily gained 
ground in Scotland; for an act was passed for their 
suppression by the Parliament which assembled at 
Perth, 1424. In 1433, twenty-five years after Wyck- 
liffe's disciple was burned at the stake in Perth, Paul 
Crauer, a Bohemian, was burned in the public square 
at St. Andrews for the same faith. 

He was a man of great learning and of remarkable 



THE CASTLE. I 25 

dexterity in argument. He had been sent by the 
reformers of Prague to open a communication with 
the brethren in Scotland. By profession he was a 
physician, but only practiced for the purpose of gain- 
ing a favorable opportunity of teaching the reformed 
faith. He was instrumental in making many converts. 
In the account of his trial given by his enemies, he is 
spoken of as an emissary to a numerous body sharing 
the sentiments of himself and countrymen. When 
brought to trial, he courageously owned his opinions 
and met his death with a composure and faith that 
powerfully influenced the minds of the people. 

A century passed away with its growth and prepa- 
ration for lifting a pure worship out of the sink of 
corruption in the Romish Church, and then the struggle 
began. The evidences of the ghastly and revolting 
scenes of the sixteenth century are abundant in St. 
Andrews. The Castle, a stronghold erected about the 
year 1200 upon a rock knoll washed by the tide, has 
been the scene of ecclesiastical intrigue, of broken 
hearts, of intense suffering, of tragic death and of 
many a triumph of faith over the devices of the Evil 
One. The great massive front of the Castle and much 
of the walls and abutments remain and exhibit a 
solidity and strength that is astonishing. Neither 
fiction nor the study of the sciences can give the pure 
and exalted pleasure that the study of history affords, 
because all along its pages the finger of God is dis- 
played in matchless wisdom and grandeur, directing 
every event and every purpose of man to the end di- 
vinely appointed in the counsels of Eternity. The 
hearts of kings are in his hand, and he turns them as 



126 REMINISCENCES. 

the rivers of water are turned. By little, as well as by 
great things, the chain of events with its many links 
is forged to bind them all to his own great purpose. 

James IV. fell on the fatal field of Flodden, and 
during the minority of the young king James V., the 
writings of the Continental divines, John Huss, Luther 
and Melancthon were introduced into Scotland, as 
appears from an act of Parliament (1525) strictly for- 
bidding the importation of all such articles. At this 
time there appeared upon the scene a youth of royal 
lineage, Patrick Hamilton, possessing high mental en- 
dowments and designed for the Church. He was born 
in Glasgow in 1504 and educated at the University of 
Paris. In his infancy his wealth and position obtained 
for him the Abbacy of Ferae as a foretaste of the 
honors to which he might aspire. But while his 
friends were planning for him a splendid career of 
worldly pomp and power, his heavenly Father was 
fitting him for the martyr's crown. His studious 
habits and condemnation of the corruptions of the 
Church aroused the suspicions of the clergy, and young 
Hamilton took refuge on the Continent. Here he en- 
joyed the friendship of Luther and Melancthon and 
obtained a more complete knowledge of the doctrines 
of the Reformation and of divine truth. As these 
principles took hold of his mind he longed to tell them 
to his countrymen. The return to Scotland of this 
gifted preacher attracted great numbers, and his in- 
structions were received with the greatest eagerness. 
His high birth, the elegance of his manner, and his 
earnest appeals rendered his influence almost irresist- 
ible. The clergy saw no safety to their cause but in 



CARDINAL BEATON. \2J 

his destruction. He was brought to trial at St. An- 
drews, upon a charge of heresy, condemned to be 
burned at the stake in 1528, in the twenty-fourth year 
of his age. Patrick Hamilton was the first Scottish 
martyr. As the flames blazed up around him his 
voice rose calm and clear, " How long, O Lord, shall 
darkness cover this realm?" "Lord Jesus receive my 
spirit." His death did more for the cause in Scotland 
than a lengthened lifetime could have done. Men 
began to inquire why Patrick Hamilton was put to 
death, and several priests were induced to defend the 
doctrines of the Reformation. Archbishop Beaton 
Spoke of burning them in the hearing of one who 
replied, "Burn them in the cellar then; for the smoke 
of Patrick Hamilton has infected as many as it blew 
upon." 

David Beaton, a man of talent and towering ambi- 
tion, succeeded his uncle, James Beaton, in the Arch- 
bishopric of St. Andrews in 1539 and was raised to 
the rank of a Cardinal. He early determined to use 
more severe measures against the reformers, and many 
were brought to the stake. The Cardinal resolved to 
watch the youthful monarch, James V., lest he should 
form an alliance with Henry the VIII. of England by 
marrying his daughter, and thus be led by the example 
of Henry to favor the Reformation. He artfully united 
with James in his purpose to reduce the power of the 
feudal barons, and succeeded in persuading James to 
marry a French princess, a bigoted Catholic. In this 
Castle the infamous schemes of Cardinal Beaton were 
prosecuted by which he hoped to crush the Reforma- 
tion and rivet the chains of Popery upon bleeding 



128 REMINISCENCES. 

Scotland. His cruel delight in the sufferings of the 
reformers was characteristic of the power he repre- 
sented. 

George Wishart was a man of good family, of fine 
scholarship and singularly eloquent. He first appeared 
as a teacher in Montrose, and for presuming to instruct 
his pupils in the Greek Testament he was threatened 
with prosecution and obliged to leave his native coun- 
try. After extended travels in England, Germany and 
Switzerland, he returned to Scotland and began to 
preach the doctrines of evangelical truth with such 
persuasive eloquence that his audiences wept and 
trembled as he preached, and many renounced Popery. 
Scotland was now all unconsciously preparing for a 
warfare. The seed fell on "good ground." God had 
given to Scotchmen an ardent love of freedom, keen 
conscientiousness and a firm sense of what constitutes 
the grand and beautiful in character, with enthusiasm, 
earnest devotion, and contempt of suffering whenever 
it fettered independent thought and action. Upon this 
ground Wishart scattered the seeds of Christian 
knowledge which were afterward quickened into active 
growth by the courageous and faithful testimony which 
he bore to the truth at the time of his martyrdom. 
He preached with great acceptance in Montrose and 
Dundee and afterwards to multitudes in Ayr and 
Mauchlin. A plague broke out in Dundee. Disre- 
garding the danger, he hastened to the people, 
preaching the gospel and relieving their spiritual and 
temporal wants. The Cardinal and his emissaries 
were enraged and attempted to take his life by the 
hands of an assassin. Wishart escaped and came to 



DEATH OF WISHART. I 29 

Haddington, beset by enemies, but he was attended 
during his stay by John Knox who was a young man 
and tutor at that time to the family of Douglass. But 
the time of his martyrdom was at hand. He was im- 
prisoned and afterwards taken to St. Andrews for trial. 
The Cardinal applied to the Regent Arran for the 
appointment of a civil judge to preside in the case. 
The Regent was startled by the wickedness of the 
measure and wrote to the Cardinal not to precipitate 
the trial but to await his coming, as he could not con- 
sent to the death of any one till the case was very 
fully examined. The Cardinal was afraid of delay. It 
would be such a signal triumph over heresy that he 
determined not to turn from his purpose. He wrote 
haughtily to the Regent that the Church did not need 
his consent and proceeded with the trial at once. 
When Wishart was brought before the council of 
Bishops and heard their accusations he replied that he 
took his stand upon the Holy Scriptures, refusing to 
believe anything that could not be established by their 
authority and accepting whatever they taught. 

As might have been expected, he was condemned 
to be burned at the stake, the execution of the sentence 
to be effected the next day. The greater part of the 
night was spent by Wishart in prayer. Next morning, 
after spending some time alone in prayer, he was led 
out by two executioners. The Cardinal had ordered a 
stake to be fixed in the ground and packages of gun- 
powder placed among the kindlings, and lest his 
friends should attempt to rescue him, he had the guns 
of the Castle turned upon the spot and issued a public 
order that no one should pray for him under pain of 
9 



1 30 REMINISCENCES. 

the severest censures of the Church. When Wishart 
was brought to the stake he prayed thus three times, 
"O thou Saviour of sinners, have mercy upon me. 
Father in heaven, I commend my spirit into thy holy 
hands." To the crowd gathered around him he said, 
" I beseech you Christian brethren, be not offended in 
the word of God, for the afflictions ye see prepared 
forme. Suffer patiently for the word's sake. 'Fear 
not them that kill the body, but have no power to kill 
the soul.' I do not fear this grim fire; my faith is such 
that I know I shall be with my Saviour to-night." 

The death of Wishart was regarded by the Romish 
Church as a great triumph, and the Cardinal was com- 
plimented for his energy and boldness. But the 
feelings of the people throughout the country were 
shocked by the cruelty and disgusted by the illegality 
of the proceeding. The mild and blameless character 
of Wishart was universally known, and great numbers 
were persuaded that he suffered in defense of the pure 
gospel of Christ. So much popular indignation was 
excited against the Cardinal, and it gained such 
strength with a few individuals, that they formed a 
conspiracy and took his life. His assassination was 
never justified by the Reformers, but in the providence 
of God by this means they obtained possession of the 
Castle of St. Andrews, and invited John Knox to 
enter it as a place where he might conduct the edu- 
cation of his pupils in quiet and security. God had 
brought Scotland into great tribulation, but he was 
near to aid her and was preparing for her a reaping 
time. 

One of the wonderful things to be seen in the rocky 



THE DUNGEONS. I 31 

floor of a small vaulted chamber of the Castle's Sea 
Tower is the Bottle Dungeon, a dark, dismal prison 
twenty-four feet deep. At its yawning mouth it is 
four feet in diameter. The depth of the neck is eleven 
feet, after which it widens like a bottle, till at the bot- 
tom it is sixteen feet in diameter, as we realized when 
a torch was lowered to the bottom. Says John Knox, 
"In this place many of God's children were impris- 
oned." It is known that George Wishart and John 
Roger and Henry Forest were long kept here. 

After examining the points of interest inside the 
walls of the Castle, our friends led the way to a deeper 
and more awful prison house even than the Bottle 
Dungeon. It was discovered only about twelve years, 
ago, while one was digging the cellar for a new house 
across the street from the Castle. The passage to this 
dungeon is subterranean and enters the rocky founda- 
tion upon which the Castle rests a few feet beneath the 
surface. The cut from end to end is about one hun- 
dred and fifty feet through solid rock, and the entrance 
to the dungeon is about four feet in diameter. The 
way is gradually downward in its course, and by fol- 
lowing a groove cut in the floor of this way one can 
walk by stooping considerably. At a point some 
seventy feet from the entrance there is an opening in 
the floor, and the passage through it was narrowed to 
about fifteen inches in diameter. It has been enlarged 
recently, and a ladder is placed so as to give easy ac- 
cess to a large chamber below, hewn out of the rock 
which is some thirty feet under ground. This chamber 
is twenty-two by thirteen feet, and has two deep cells 
opposite each other. 



132 REMINISCENCES. 

In company with most interesting friends in St. 
Andrews who were thoroughly posted in history, we 
made the descent into this gloomy and suggestive relic 
of a time that had tried men's souls. Each of us car- 
ried a lighted candle, and upon reaching the chamber 
we stood amazed at the evidences of torture that was 
probably the fate of the prisoners immured within the 
walls. In very early times it may have been used as a 
sally-port. At the opening into the chamber one man 
inside could have held a thousand enemies at bay. It 
is difficult, however, to get rid of the idea that it has 
been used for a prison in persecuting times. There is 
good reason to believe that Alesius was imprisoned 
here shortly after the death of his friend and co- 
laborer, Patrick Hamilton. While standing there we 
extinguished our lights, that we might enter more 
really into the feelings of those who for days and 
weeks slept and waked in this cold, damp dungeon 
amid darkness that could be felt and with no sound to 
break the awful stillness save, perchance, the dash of 
the breakers in a storm at sea. In this darkness with 
strangely solemn feelings we all joined in singing the 
23rd and 121 st Psalms. The words never seemed 
more precious, nor did they ever sink deeper into the 
heart, though they have so often kindled a glow that 
can never die. As the sounds reverberated and sank 
to silence, the agony of those dreadful times came up, 
and the echoes were sepulchral and almost startling. 

We were prepared by this visit to the Castle for the 
contemplation of one of the most magnificent passages 
in Scottish history. It has been said that " Robert 
Bruce battled for a crown; but John Knox battled for 



JOHN KNOX. I33 

the truth." Both won after a long struggle, chiefly by 
the might of their single arm. But the lustre of John 
Knox far outshines that of Robert Bruce. Knox was 
an iron-hearted hero who never feared the face of man 
and served God in spite of devils, Popes and kings. 
He was noble, truth-loving, a hater of sham, never 
sparing himself; a real hero. His history possesses 
the greatest interest. Born in Haddington of poor 
parents, in the year 1505, he was destined for the 
Church. He received a collegiate education, and in 
due time became an honest priest. The principles of 
the Reformation made a deep impression on his mind, 
and he adopted them silently and surely. He spent 
much of his time teaching and pursuing his studies. 
He took charge of a class of gentlemen's sons, and 
being invited to bring his pupils to the castle did so 
without hesitation. His manner of teaching was very 
impressive. He daily read to his pupils the word of 
God and explained as he read and catechised them 
publicly. Many attended these examinations and were 
so much profited by them that they proposed to him 
to enter the pulpit and preach the unsearchable riches 
of Christ. But Knox had such an idea of the sacred- 
ness of the office that he utterly refused. 

Shortly after this the Reformers felt it their duty to 
give him a formal call to the office of the ministry. 
Thus publicly called Knox felt he could no longer de- 
cline with a clear conscience. Abashed and bursting 
into tears he withdrew to the secrecy of his own 
chamber where he remained alone for many days 
undergoing a mighty conflict. Strengthened by this 
communion with God he began to preach the ever- 



1 34 REMINISCENCES. 

lasting gospel. In his assaults upon Popery Knox 
took higher ground than any of his brethren had yet 
done. In a public assembly he said he did not doubt 
that the Romish Church was the synagogue of Satan, 
and the Pope the man of sin spoken of by Paul. 
This courageous declaration produced a strong sensa- 
tion. On the following Sabbath he preached to a 
crowded audience in the parish church of St. An- 
drews, taking for his text the 24th and 25th verses of 
the seventh chapter of Daniel. He maintained that 
the Romish Church was the wicked, blaspheming 
power spoken of in connection with the fourth beast 
and boldly declared the Pope anti-Christ. At this 
time the Reformation in Scotland really began. From 
this time it was clear there could be no compromise, 
no appeal to any other standard than the word of God. 
This sermon produced an extraordinary impression. 
It shook the confidence of multitudes in the Church 
of Rome, and many forsook her communion. It was 
said, " Others struck at the branches of Popery, but 
Knox struck at the root to bring down the tree." The 
priests and bishops were alarmed, and felt that some- 
thing must be done to stem the tide of opposition. 
They had tried fire and sword, but the Reformation 
only appeared in greater purity and gathered greater 
strength. The archbishop of St. Andrews now sum- 
moned Knox to appear before a convention of priests 
to answer for the charge of preaching heresy. In the 
public disputation which followed, the Popish clergy 
took the ground that the Church had power to appoint 
decent ceremonies and gave as an instance the band in 
baptism as significant of the roughness of the law and 



a discussion. 1 35 

the oil as significant of God's mercy. Knox replied, 
" If you may invent ceremonies and give them a signi- 
fication at pleasure, then the ceremonies of the Pagans, 
Jews and Mohammedans may all be adopted, if you 
only take care to give them some plausible interpreta- 
tion." He argued further that the only safe rule was 
to take the Holy Scriptures for a guide and introduce 
no form of worship unless commanded by God himself. 
The clergy replied that many things might be done 
without express authority of Scripture, such as asking 
drink when thirsty. Said Knox, " Liberty is expressly 
allowed in meats and drinks, but no such liberty in 
religious observances. The command is to add nothing 
to the Scriptures and take nothing from them." 

One of the priests then attempted to prove the 
divine authority of their ceremonies from the text of 
Paul where he speaks of building gold and silver and 
precious stones, wood hay and stubble upon Christ the 
foundation, affirming that these things were the cere- 
monies of the Church which she has built upon Christ 
by authority of the apostle. Knox met this argument 
by inquiring what fire it was that the ceremonies of 
the Church like gold, silver, etc., were able to abide. 
If the fire was the word of God, then it was clear that 
as we are commanded not to add to this word nor to 
take from it, the ceremonies of the Church were con* 
demned as a human addition to the institutions of 
God. "They could abide the trial of the word only 
as the thief abides the trial of law and is condemned 
to be hanged." The priest still insisted that we are 
not so closely bound to the word as Knox supposed, 
and said, "That the apostles had not received the Holy 



1 36 REMINISCENCES. 

Spirit when they wrote their epistles, and that they 
were inspired afterward and then instituted the cere- 
monies of the Church." This foolish answer made 
Knox exclaim, "If that be true I have been so long in 
error, and I think I shall die in my error." The priest 
was confused and said, "The Church was a safe and 
impregnable fortress." Knox quickly replied, "The 
spouse of Christ can have no power or authority 
against the word of God." The priest cried out, 
"Then ye will leave us no Church at all." Knox with 
cutting irony said, "There was a Church mentioned in 
the Book of Psalms — the congregation of evil doers — 
which they might have without the word; but as for 
him, he would abide by that Church which had Christ 
Jesus for its great pastor and whose leading character- 
istic was to hear his voice and to turn away from the 
voice of strangers." 

The Popish clergy were confounded. They could 
not answer the keen logic of Knox. At the same 
time they saw that public discussion only gave wider 
circulation to his views, and they hastily closed the 
conference. It was like bearding the lion in his den 
for Knox to combat almost single-handed such an 
array of antagonists. But his strength was in his 
cause, and he knew it and rested there with unshaken 
confidence. After the trial the priests met for consul- 
tation. They felt they had lost ground by the experi- 
ment. The Castle was held by the Reformers, and the 
people were anxiously inquiring after the truth. The 
priests decided to fill the pulpits on the Sabbath with 
their most learned men so as to keep out Knox. 
Hitherto they had been too much taken up with 



A TEMPORARY REPULSE. I 37 

pleasure to preach on the Sabbath. They also resolved 
to avoid all controverted points or any cause that 
would excite the people and try by all means to divert 
their minds and lull them into security. 

Knox, however, continued his work preaching on 
week days and instructing the people, till at length the 
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was publicly dispensed 
free from Popish superstition. The adherents of Rome 
were in a rage, but they were held in check by those 
who kept the Castle and had her guns and fortifica- 
tions in possession. They therefore concluded to 
apply to France for aid. She promptly sent them a 
fleet of galleys and a body of troops to reduce the 
Castle. The little garrison made a brave defense, but 
they were greatly outnumbered by disciplined troops 
and were compelled to surrender. The sentiment of 
the people had grown into such a power by this time 
that the Romish party feared to take the lives of Knox 
and his associates, and they were sent to France as 
prisoners, and against the express stipulations of the 
treaty they were confined to the galley as slaves and 
treated with the utmost cruelty. 

Tradition points out the high and wide front window 
of the Castle as the one from which Cardinal Beaton 
in hateful pride reclining on velvet cushions witnessed 
the burning of the gentle and pious reformer George 
Wishart. The place of the burning is thought to be 
immediately in front of the Castle. 

All these precious things of history came vividly to 
mind as we stood on the spot where the storm had 
raged with such a burning heat, and where such a 
grand structure grew out of the ashes. 



1 38 REMINISCENCES. 

" A patriot's blood 
May for a time insure to his loved land 
The sweets of liberty and equal laws: 
But martyrs struggle for a brighter prize 
And win it with more pain. Their blood is shed 
In confirmation of the noblest claim, 
Our claim to feed upon immortal truth, 
To walk with God to be divinely free, 
To soar and to anticipate the skies ; 
Yet few remember them." 

Another most interesting spot is the Cathedral, 
founded in 1 160, and its ancient burial places. The 
Cathedral is a magnificent ruin 358 feet long inside the 
walls. Three stone coffins of unknown antiquity lie 
upon the ground enclosure, and there are tomb stones 
in the south transept dated 1 380. 

Among the graves of more modern date are those 
of the eminent divines, Samuel Rutherford and Thomas 
Halyburton. With our excellent friends we spent 
profitable hours here, as also at the remains of a 
Culdee house of worship near by and adjacent to the 
little hillock by the sea where Henry Forest and 
Walter Mill, the Reformers, were both burned at the 
stake. Both were tried and condemned to death 
within the walls of the Cathedral, as were also Patrick 
Hamilton and George Wishart. The interesting places 
in St. Andrews can scarcely be counted. In the long 
and bitter contest between the Reformers and the 
Romish Church, and afterwards between the Presby- 
tery and Prelacy, the clergy of St. Andrews played a 
prominent part, John Knox being the leading spirit 
of the former conflict. A volume of interesting church 
records in the hand-writing of John Knox is being 
transcribed. 



DUNDEE. 1 39 

The institutions of learning are very interesting. 
St. Mary's College has within its enclosure a hawthorn 
planted by Mary the Queen of Scots. It is large and 
thrifty and was at the time of our visit growing scarlet 
with a profusion of berries clustering among the dark 
green leaves. The finely carved oak pulpit of John 
Knox — the one he was "like to ding into blads and 
flye out of" — is well preserved. Not far away, at the 
College gate is the spot where Patrick Hamilton was 
burned at the stake. This day was well spent, and a 
pleasant savor still lingers. 

In the evening we bade our friends, Mr. and Mrs. 
Flemming, farewell and took the train for our quarters 
in Edinburgh. At Leuchars we tapped the main line 
south which passes the edge of the city of Dundee, 
and which gave us glimpses of its flourishing manu- 
facturing interests with a sight of its beautiful harbor. 
Dundee figures prominently in history and is said to 
have been the first Scottish corporation that publicly 
renounced Romanism. At this point the river Tay 
broadens into a deep arm of the sea and is two miles 
wide. As our train sped across this expanse of water, 
the remains of that earlier Tay bridge, so sorrowfully 
remembered, lilted its slender dismantled piers here 
and there out of the trackless waste. The horror of 
that fearful night crept over us. The hungry, howling 
storm was pictured on those broken remains, and the 
agony of that burden of human life, that was in a 
moment swept into the remorseless sea to be locked 
in its depths, was chiseled into the slender spiral of 
piers that yet remain to tell the story of that awful 
night. We could not escape the shadow of it till we 



140 REMINISCENCES. 

reached the Frith of Forth, where a fine sail of six 
miles brought us to Edinburgh again and gave us a 
view of the substantial bridge then being erected to 
span the Forth. Our next day was one of special 
enjoyment. We lunched with Rev. William Nixon, 
D. D., and then as the guests of Mr. James Gemmell 
whose home is in the city and who intelligently loves 
his native land, we visited the environs of Edinburgh. 
The day was perfect — not a cloud overhead — and the 
breezes whispered softly as we drove , quickly out of 
the city. We took in a view of Newington church 
building and graveyard, the scene of so much in the 
life of the lamented Dr. James Begg, beside many 
other places of interest. From the grand Scottish 
highway we turned aside to visit Roslin Castle and 
Hawthornden. 

Both of these places are interesting and are con- 
nected by a narrow glen of exceeding beauty through 
which passes the waters of the Esk. So quiet is the 
stream at this point that one may reach the verge, 
where the bank cuts precipitately into yawning caverns 
and great broken fragments of brown rock, tossed as 
if by a tempest, and not be aware of such a frightful 
leap. The water lies still and deep and black, in 
places half hidden by copsevvood and cliff. The ruins 
of the Castle stand upon a rocky promontory that 
overhangs the river. The only access to this once 
proud Castle is over a high bridge that spans a deep 
incision in the rock. It is gray with age. Mosses 
and lichens now creep over the seams and fissures in 
the stout walls so surely dropping into dust, just as the 
haughty barons of Roslin are crumbling beneath the 



THE PENTLAND HILLS. 14I 

pavement of Roslin chapel, many of them intered in 
complete armor, with titles so numerous they are a 
weariness to the flesh. This chapel was founded in 
1446, and it is said to be the finest specimen of Gothic 
architecture in all Scotland. Hawthornden was the 
residence of the poet Drummond, the first Scottish 
poet to write well in English. It is picturesquely 
situated upon the edge of a cliff with dreamy surround- 
ings that invite the ideal. All has passed away but 
the memory and the lessons that remind us so keenly 
that we too are dust — that the earthly house has at 
least entered the autumn, when the leaves drop here 
and there as dust mingling with dust. 

Our route lay next along the southern slope of the 
historic Pentland Hills. They extend southerly for 
sixteen miles and are a succession of ridges and 
crowns and gentle slopes. They are nowhere frowning 
or shaggy, but are clothed in the softest verdure, upon 
which played that afternoon the lights and shadows 
painted by a sunny sky. As evening approached and 
the sun became low, the undulations of this mountain 
stretch glowed in the warmth of the sun's rays, and 
every top was kindled, while the shadow of some shel- 
tered spot became more marked by contrast. Sheep 
grazed here and there, and sometimes cattle fed upon 
the slopes, while at the roadside at intervals were the 
thatched cottages of the lowly peasant with their 
flower plots and modest surroundings, reminding one 
of the fine pastoral poem of Allen Ramsey, "The 
Gentle Shepherd." The scene of the poem lies in this 
region, and on our way often we crossed 

" A trotting burnie wimpling through the ground, 
Its channel pebbles shining smooth and round." 



142 REMINISCENCES. 

The way was enlivened by anecdote and story 
illustrating Scottish life and character. The apt, 
matter-of-fact characteristic was referred to in the 
following little story: A minister riding at the head 
of a funeral procession overheard a young man, who 
was trying to drive some frightened and refractory 
geese, say angrily, " The devil hang the geese." A 
little farther on, another specimen was trying his skill 
in driving some pigs that were in the same temper as 
the geese, and he shouted, " The devil -choke the pigs." 
The minister looked up at this juncture and said, 
" Bide a wee, my man, the devil is back a bit hanging 
some geese, and he'll be here soon to choke the pigs." 
To show the partisan spirit once so rife, we had this 
admirably told anecdote. An old lady was in the 
habit of praying for her minister whose name was 
Andrew Thompson. Not far away was a minister of 
the same name whom she did not like at all. She was 
overheard praying fervently for Andrew Thompson, 
and at the close she added, "It's no Andrew Thomp- 
son down the brae, but Andrew Thompson up the 
brae." On we sped till we reached a gateway leading 
into the battlefield of Rullion Green. 

At this place there is a long and steep slope of the 
Pentland Hills. Its brow is densely wooded, and at 
the edge are the graves of fifty Covenanters who fell 
on that field. A monument in an iron enclosure tells 
the story. Two of the sleepers are ministers, who, 
among the many thousands of that time, gave their 
lives for civil and religious liberty. The Covenanters 
were led by Col. Wallace. They had marched rapidly 
from Dumfries and Lanark, having renewed the cove- 



RULLION GREEN. 1 43 

nant at the latter place, at the same time declaring 
adherence to the king and requesting the re-establish- 
ment of Presbytery. They expected to be joined by 
great numbers from Edinburgh and vicinity; but these 
were held in check by Gen. Dalzell's trained forces. 
Upon this spot, after a long and tiresome march with 
undisciplined men who were wet, cold and hungry, 
Col. Wallace gave battle, and, though the men fought 
with desperate courage, they were totally routed. 
Dalzell's men were greatly superior in numbers; con- 
sequently many prisoners were taken and after fearful 
torture met a martyr's death. 

Through struggle and contest the truth wins its 
way, and godliness is strengthened and purified. Noth- 
ing is more fatal to genuine progress than stagnation 
and indifference. The reason why the Canaanites 
were not at once destroyed was to teach Israel war — to 
prevent them from falling into weakness and effemi- 
nacy resulting from ease and pleasure. Self-defense 
and daring deeds develop truth and all heroic qualities. 
Our Saviour said to his disciples, "When ye hear of 
wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled, for such 
things must needs be." The oppressions to which the 
Church has been subjected have been overruled for 
good, though God sees and takes vengeance on the 
enemies of his truth, and they reap the reward of their 
wicked devising. But it is when Zion is assailed that 
her defenses are made strong. Out of every contro- 
versy the Church has come with truth more clearly 
defined; and though we are now, without doubt, in the 
reflex wave of speculation and human invention in the 
Church, yet they shall all be broken to pieces, and 



144 REMINISCENCES. 

"Truth crushed to earth shall rise again." It is the 
glad promise of the Master that the rising shall be in 
grander power. All experience accords with this 
promise. 

At the clachan of Carlops we turned for home, and 
the stars were "i* the lift," ere we reached the hospit- 
able home that furnished us this gladsome day. The 
next morning our farewells were all to be made, and 
we left the city of Edinburgh forever; at least so we 
felt. But we revisit the storied streets, the ancient 
halls and the homes of our dear friends there; for the 
imprint is fixed upon our memory, and will stay and 
throb while life lasts. 

With the leave-taking we cast a parting glance at 
the Castle of Edinburgh, and the old life at its feet, at 
one time a busy scene of human passions in wildest 
tumult. We also caught a glimpse of the Free Church 
Assembly Hall under the shadow of the Castle, occu- 
pying the ground of one of the old and interesting 
historic houses of Edinburgh. The palace of the in- 
triguing Mary of Guise, the mother of Mary Queen 
of Scots stood there, with the handsome wood carvings 
and panels of her time, till removed for this building. 

The sight of the Hall brought to mind the period 
of 1843, one of Scotland's modern memorial eras. We 
refer to the disruption in the Established Church that 
originated the present Free Church of Scotland. It 
was a grand Reformation which brought into the 
arena of conflict and arrayed on the side of truth many 
earnest men. Drs. Chalmers, Welsh and Candlish 
were leaders in the reform movement. The late Dr. 
James Begg, so valiant and powerful for a pure wor- 



A GRAND SCENE. 1 45 

ship till his lamented death was, although quite a 
young minister, distinguished as a courageous standard 
bearer for the Free Church party. It must have been 
a most solemn scene when the separation actually took 
place, as man by man, they filed out into the open air 
and falling into procession, marched for Tanfield Hall, 
the appointed place of meeting. There was no haste, 
no confusion accompanying this exodus from the 
Church of Scotland. The crowd outside did, indeed, 
welcome them with waving handkerchiefs, and a deep, 
half-suppressed shout echoed from the thousands that 
crowded the streets and filled the doors and windows 
and even the housetops. No police force was neces- 
sary to clear the way. The mass divided respectfully 
by a sudden impulse and left a way open in the middle 
of the street for these venerable defenders of religious 
liberty to walk four abreast. 

It is no argument against such conflicts in defense 
of the truth that the love of many will wax cold, that 
they will fall away from their first love, and therefore, 
it is not necessary to stand in the breach and display 
a banner for Truth, Our armor, as pilgrims passing 
through this wilderness way should always be buckled 
on ready for present duty. 

"Aye do the thing that's nearest han';'* that thing is 
present duty; results are with God. We battle against 
an insidious foe that knows our frailties better far than 
we know them ourselves. But we have been overtaken 
by laying off our armor and slumbering by the way- 
side; present duty requires us to be doubly active and 
earnest to get back into the strait and narrow way 
that leads to Life Eternal. No gilding nor worldly 
IO 



I46 REMINISCENCES. 

blandishments should make us hesitate, present duty 
is clear. The Free Church crisis was one of those 
grand and stirring epochs during which the Church is 
revived and made to shine. The time may not be dis- 
tant when God will arise and plead his own cause and 
revive his work in this once highly-favored land; for 
the present ecclesiastical state is not satisfactory. As 
in the natural, so in the moral and religious world, it 
is pleasant to glide softly down the placid stream, and 
yet there is a higher and holier joy that springs from 
rugged duties we are ordered to perform. 

The train moved on toward Glasgow in sight of 
Langside and the Kirk of Shotts. The latter is memor- 
able as one of the places where the Holy Spirit was 
wonderfully poured out in 1630. It followed a season 
of fasting and humiliation and confession of sin when 
the persecutions of Charles I. were pressing with such 
severity. It was the spiritual food that nourished 
them and strengthened them to engage in the National 
Covenant eight years after. The Lord's Supper was 
dispensed at Shotts at this time to a multitude from 
the surrounding country. The services were unusually 
solemn and devotional. When Monday morning came 
there was such reluctance to separate that they decided 
to spend the day in thanksgiving services. The result 
was a remarkable awakening; nearly five hundred 
persons experienced a change of heart. The means 
used were the simple teaching and preaching of the 
Word, all powerful to convert the soul that lies in sin. 
The outgrowth of this was the sowing of the goodly 
seed of gospel truth throughout Clydesdale. 

Langside is famous in history as the spot where the 



THE LOCHS. 147 

unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots fought her last 
battle. She escaped from Lochleven, her prison-house, 
instantly took horse and defied her enemies. News 
of her escape spread like wildfire and her friends 
flocked to her standard. The Regent Moray at the 
head of the Government party met the forces of the 
dethroned Queen near this village of Langside. The 
tide of the battle was disastrous for her and ruined 
her cause. The deluded Mary, mounted on a fleet 
horse, waited on an eminence in sight till she saw the 
rout of her troups. When the suspense was over, she 
gave rein to her steed and rode sixty miles without a 
halt and took refuge in the Abbey of Dundrennan in 
Galloway. It was at the conclusion of this terrible 
defeat that she threw herself upon the protection of 
Queen Elizabeth. 

Thursday, August I ith, we were off early to catch 
the first train for the Lochs, and after a ride of twenty- 
five miles we reached the south end of Loch Lomond, 
the Queen of Scottish lakes. An open steamer waited 
for the passengers to convey them over the placid 
waves of this magnificent sheet of water, some thirty 
miles long, gemmed with beautiful islands and shaded 
by mountains. Where we entered the shore was 
gently sloping. There were lordly mansions and 
beautiful lawns with ancient larch trees and beds of 
roses and rare plants artistically arranged. These 
homes were sandwiched with fields and groves and 
softly swelling hills. 

Very soon, however, the scene changed, and this 
smiling landscape became another grade of beauty. 
Foothills appeared overhanging the lake and rising 



I48 REMINISCENCES. 

abruptly. They were bare of trees, but green as 
emerald. They soon became mountains that mirrored 
themselves in the clear water, so transparent and 
golden, the fish could be counted as they fled from us. 
The mountains became more majestic and lofty as our 
steamer dashed the water from her prow; yet beauty 
never departed from these bold bens and lofty acclivi- 
ties. Not the least among the beauties were the lights 
and shadows that chased each other, producing a most 
pleasing variety. Ben Lomond is the prince among 
them all. He lifts his bold, bare head above the 
clouds, and looks down protectingly upon the waters 
he loves. This great mountain terminates in a conical 
peak and is three thousand nine hundred and twelve 
feet above sea level. On the north it rises abruptly, 
exhibiting a precipice two thousand feet high, while on 
the south it declines gently. The top of his head-dress 
was a hoary brown, and all else of the huge monster 
was lost in cloudland and in the number of crowns and 
pinnacles that pressed close to his side for shelter, and 
peeped and shied at us as we quickly passed. The 
summits were all bare and craggy and frequently 
broken into deep fissures and dark caverns and per- 
pendicular passes, through which some sparkling rill 
often leaped foaming into the loch. 

Among these mountain fastnesses the famous outlaw, 
Rob Roy or Robert McGregor Campbell, once held 
high carnival and long defied the laws of his country. 
He was nicknamed Roy from his red face and hair, 
which Roy described in Gaelic. He knew every foot- 
fall of these dangerous rocky steeps and lofty prom- 
ontories and once saved his life by concealment in the 



ROB ROY. I49 

same cave at the foot of Ben Lomond, where Robert 
Bruce once concealed himself from the English. Rob 
Roy was not the ignorant, hard-hearted desperado he 
is supposed to have been. He was very kind to the 
poor, and in those days when might made right, he 
often stole cattle and sheep from the rich to feed the 
poor who were neglected by the haughty nobles. In 
early life he married Helen, a daughter of Glenfalloch, 
whose estates included Inversnaid at the head of this 
Loch, and settled down to quiet life in the Highlands 
of Balquhider. Being a powerful athlete, he resented 
every wrong till almost every hand was against him, 
and he eventually became skilled in both wit and 
prowess. The little Highland cottage in a nook in the 
mountain where he won his bride is still standing, and 
the spot was pointed out where a clansman of the 
Duke of Montrose caught Rob Roy in the early period 
of his lawless capers and held him by his kilt over a 
craggy height that overlooked the loch and gave him 
a profound and healthy shaking. He died in his bed 
in 1738, and sleeps beside the lovely waters of this 
loch. Rob Roy undertook to do what the laws of his 
country could not do at that time. Highland chiefs 
then disputed their rights with potentates, but now 
they respect authority, kind but firm and unflinching. 
The wholesome exercise of authority in both State 
and Church is exalting and ennobling. It is God's 
mode of governing the world. It soon sits easy upon 
all classes and wins their respect; for all need the 
check rein. 

At Inversnaid we were jolted and tilted in a wagon- 
ette up a rocky way five miles long that often sheered 



I50 REMINISCENCES. 

suddenly into a yawning precipice so dark and deep 
the eye could not fathom its depth. There was an air 
of solemn grandeur about this scene, and our party 
lapsed into silence to take it in. In the days that have 
gone by, the great clans in kilt and tartan have often 
mustered here, and with war to the knife clambered up 
over these great rocky walls and gaping passes. At 
the wayside stood a shepherd's shieling, neat and cosy, 
looking over against the bleak and desolate slopes 
upon which the black-faced sheep nipped the short 
grass. Loch Arklet, a mountain tarn by the wayside, 
added to the lofty grandeur of the scene, and we 
longed to stay a few days and revel in its sublimity. 

While we were still wrapped in this wild and lonely 
beauty, Loch Katrine and the Highland village of 
Stronachlachlar dawned upon us. The Loch is a gem 
of rare beauty. It is the scene of Scott's " Lady of 
the Lake." Grandly the poem trilled from the parting 
water as we skipped over it in a ferry boat and echoed 
from the spurs and ridges that "sink down upon the 
deep." There, too, were the patches of "bracken 
green" and purple heather, making "the rugged 
mountain's scanty cloak" one of many colors. Every- 
where gleamed the lovely heather. Ellen's Isle was 
ablaze with it among the graceful vines. One almost 
expected a light shallop to put out from one of the 
bays, bearing a chieftain's daughter with "satin snood 
and silken plaid." The Loch in olden times was called 
Loch Cateran because of the caterans or freebooters 
that frequented the gorges and dark passes in the lofty 
bens that surround it. The water was clear and 
sparkling with a tint of gold as its waves rolled away 



GRAND SCENERY. I 5 I 

from the path of the vessel, and imagination ran riot 
as we neared the farther shore. Spread out before us 
was a picture of rare loveliness. Pulpit rocks stood 
out boldly, amid their foliage "the briar rose with 
streamers green," and "the narrow inlet still and 
deep," was haunted with the shadows of the great pass 
at hand. 

We disembarked and took open carriages through 
the Trossachs, which is Gaelic for the Bristling Moun- 
tain. It is not a misnomer. Such great rifts of bare 
rock towering to such a dizzy height and the great 
gorges and fissures between, dark and cavernous, made 
us feel how puny man is and how infinite the power 
that spake it all into being. It was here that bits of 
Sir Walter Scott's poem flashed upon our memory, 
and we found ourselves repeating line after line of his 
fitting description of this wild glen. 

" The western waves of ebbing day 
Kolled o'er the glen their level way. 
Each purple peak, each flinty spire 
Was bathed in fl iods of living fire. 
But not a setting beam could glow 
Within the dark ravines below, 
Where twined the path in shadow hid 
Round many a rocky pyramid, 
Shooting abruptly from the dell 
Its thunder-splintered pinnacle. 
Round many an insulated mass, 
The native bulwarks of the pass." 

The glen called the Trossachs is about one mile 
long and is traversed by a little stream of water flowing 
from Loch Katrine to Loch Achray. The road winds 
along its brink and the sides are tangled steeps, wild 



I $2 REMINISCENCES. 

and irregular with a border of hazel and birch and 
mountain ash so dense that, although mid-afternoon, 
the shades of night seemed impending. Above it like 
sentinels were "the bold cliffs of Benvenue" and 
Benawn, with his "forehead bare." There, too, was 
Beuledi, Gaelic for " Hill of God," and Duncraggan 
guarding Glenfinlas, once a hunting-ground for the 
kings of Scotland. The whole resembled a mass of 
broken mountains in irretrievable entanglement. - con- 
fusedly hurled," and yet appearing in shapes of lofty 
beauty and sublimity wonderful to behold. The scene 
along the glen and in the dells leading from it are 
illustrated in the " Lady of the Lake." It is indeed 
surpassingly grand and majestic, 

"So wondrous wild, the whole might seem 
The scenery of a fairy dream." 

At length at the foot of the mountain spur the road 
turns and Loch Achray, "The Lake of the Level 
Field," invites attention. It is flanked on one side by 
rocky splintered heights, clothed in " copsewood gray" 
mingled with "the pine tree's blue." The road at a 
great elevation skirts those heights and winds over a 
heathy slope with the Loch in full view. It is nature 
in her wildest scenes, a fit place for stirring story. It 
was the familiar home oi nature's children, the wild 
clansmen of other days. Over it has often sped the 
swift-footed messenger with the Fiery Cross, sounding 
the dreaded slogan of Clan-Alpine. Here too Tartan 
has met Tartan in deadly combat, and the blood of 
many hearts has stained the heather. But we turn to 
a fairer picture, 



GLASGOW. I 5 3 

11 Pipes of the misty moorland, 
Voice of the glen and hill, 
The drone of highland torrent, 
The song of lowland rill." 

The sweet sounds of the Gaelic pibroch were in the 
very air and echoing over mountain glen and glade 

" Full tenderly and blithesomely," 

as when the clans held a gala day. We drove rapidly 
dow r n the inclination — too quickly for the music of the 
moments. We wanted to walk over it all and stay a 
night or two and pull the pretty foxgloves blooming 
by the wayside, quite unconscious that craggy upland 
was not without them, nor without the sheep that 
grazed among the heather. When we drew up at the 
clachan or village of Aberfoil, the day's experience 
was a vision of beauty fadeless as the great rock up- 
heavels, the splintered pinnacles, the craggy gorges 
and the rippling rills of this w r onderful scenery. Here 
we took a train that whirled us rapidly into Glasgow. 
Glasgow is a mart for many nations and peoples 
and tongues. The Hibernian, the Frenchman, the 
American, and indeed it seemed every nation was 
there mingling with the Scotch as the prevailing ele- 
ment, but not exclusively the controlling one. It 
seemed a city of another people than that of any we 
had seen. In some of its features it might be called a 
fast city, quite American in its bustle and haste and 
confusion of tongues. The Glasgow vender of mer- 
chandise means business. These venders are very 
genteel, but they create the impression that the pur- 
chaser must look out for himself. They at once make 



154 REMINISCENCES. 

it clear that there are two sides to a question of pur- 
chase and never take time to mention any but the 
winning qualities of an article. 

Glasgow has grown as rapidly as any other modern 
commercial city and exhibits the various problems of 
"large commercial cities in America. New industrial 
and social conditions have forced themselves upon all 
such cities. They have latent and lurking evils that 
may well alarm the philanthropist. Glasgow is self- 
made. More than a century ago it entered upon the 
important enterprise of deepening the shallow river 
Clyde into a harbor and ocean highway, and when the 
day of iron ships dawned, Glasgow was prepared to 
make them for all the nations. In the meantime, as 
one enterprise begets another, textile and chemical 
manufactures sprang up and grew, until Glasgow is 
now one of the greatest centers of industry and com- 
merce in the world. 

The Cathedral of Glasgow is the crowning piece of 
antiquity and art, and the citizens are justly proud of 
it as a piece of mediaeval workmanship. Its age is at 
least one thousand years, and its preservation is com- 
plete, having escaped the ravages of war in every 
period of its existence. The outside appearance is 
not strikingly imposing. The ground upon which it 
stands is a little inclined toward a valley that skirts it, 
and the yard is a close pavement of stone slabs mark- 
ing the burial places of the ancient and honorable 
dead. The inscriptions are so defaced few of them 
can be read; so that the mind is left free to ponder the 
vanity of human greatness. It •passes as a summer 
cloud, fades as the autumn leaf, and the bearer of the 



THE CATHEDRAL. I 55 

burden — for greatness is a burden — has finished the 
pilgrimage of life and is lost to this world in the 
eternity beyond. But if he is united to Christ, the 
rest is glorious. 

The Cathedral inside is a perfect blaze of exquisite 
beauty. The great, massive pillars that support the 
groined roof are not less than ten feet in diameter at 
the base. They are all fluted and finished with hand- 
some capitals and stand in a double row. Under the 
mighty dome they are increased in size and beauty 
and are also thicker set. There exists the usual cathe- 
dral style of nave and aisles and transepts and chancel 
and a number of distinct and separate places for wor- 
ship. The windows are modern works of art, most 
of them executed in Munich. They are all rich and 
beautiful, some of them magnificent, and each one is 
the gift of some noble house. These stained windows 
darken the interior so much that the worshipers have 
to use gas light, while the fine stone floors have a cold 
and uncomfortable look. It is a place of worship for 
the Established Church, and the apartment is gorgeous 
indeed with the trappings of wealth. The great organs 
and the exhibit of finery produce only sadness when 
one remembers the historic Church that attained her 
greatness by taking down the organs of Catholic 
Rome and returning to a pure and spiritual worship. 

The crypt is dark and deep with an arched stone 
ceiling handsomely carved. St. Mingo's well, set forth 
to the deluded people as having miraculous power in 
the days of priest and monk, is in the crypt, and his 
stone coffin stands near upon a pedestal. It is prettily 
carved, doubtless by his own fingers; for monks were 



I 5 6 REMINISCENCES. 

not idle then, and they were not only the learned of 
that period, but the artists and architects as well. 
When the Romish Church was in the pride of her 
power, there was a subterranean passage between this 
Cathedral and Rutherglen, two miles out, where all 
the work was finished, so that the great structure, like 
Solomon's Temple, rose as if out of the earth, without 
the sound of hammer or tool or a knowledge of means 
of conveyance. The dark rooms, the alley ways and 
suspicious looking places in this underground apart- 
ment were very suggestive of thumbscrews, the rack 
and the frying-pan; anyway, we breathed freer when 
we regained the outside. At the north end is the spot 
where Jerome Russell and John Kenneday were 
burned for having embraced reformed doctrines. 

An avenue leads from the Cathedral to the Acropo- 
lis, the modern city of the dead. The way to it leads 
over the Bridge of Sighs, spanning a little burn that 
dashes over a cascade into a ravine below. The 
Acropolis is situated upon a rocky knoll overlooking 
the great city and is very beautiful. In ancient times 
it was covered with great dark fir trees and is sup- 
posed to have been a place where the Druid priests 
performed their savage rites. The first sale of lots in 
this cemetery was to the Jews, who require a burial 
place of their own. The place is separated from the 
rest and is handsomely ornamented. Immediately 
under the capital of a pillar, said to imitate Absalom's 
pillar, is a piece of fret-work formed of Hebrew letters 
into the words, "Who among the gods is like unto 
Jehovah?" On the shaft of the pillar is the following: 
" Tribes of the wandering foot and weary breast, 



THE UNIVERSITY. 157 

Where shall ye flee away and be at rest ? 
The wild dove hath her nest, the fox his cave, 
Mankind their country — Israel but the grave." 

On the very summit of the hill is the towering 
monument of John Knox. His statue, with Bible in 
one hand and the other outstretched, crowns the lofty 
square pedestal. Another to the memory of Dr. Dick, 
author of " Dick's Theology," is elegant and beautiful. 
In one corner of the grounds in a quiet shady spot, is 
the grave of William Motherwell, one of Scotland's 
sweetest poets. His most tender and touching poem 
is "Bonnie Jeanie Morrison." There is nothing in the 
whole range of Scottish poetry to equal it except 
" Highland Mary." Motherwell was a citizen of Glas- 
gow and died at the age of thirty-eight. 

The University of Glasgow was founded in 145 1 
and has had much to do in forming the religious and 
literary complexion of the country. Thomas Camp- 
bell, the poet, was once a member of the college and 
one of its brightest ornaments. The "Pleasures of 
Hope" were written while he was a student there. 

In the beginning of the eighteenth century Rev. 
John Simson, Professor of Divinity in the University, 
began to teach doctrines contrary to the Standards of 
the Established Church. He was not alone in his 
opinions. In many quarters the doctrines of free grace 
were insulted and Arminian sentiments defended. 
When the Assembly met in 17 14, attention was called 
to the matter; yet the ruling party in. the Church re- 
fused to notice it. Among the unsound doctrines 
taught were the the following Pelagian errors: "That 
it was inconsistent with the justice and goodness of 



I58 REMINISCENCES. 

God to create a soul without any original righteous- 
ness or any disposition to do good; and that the souls 
of infants since the fall are as pure and holy as the 
souls of infants would have been created, supposing 
man had not fallen. That there are means appointed 
by God for obtaining saving grace, which means when 
diligently used with seriousness, sincerity, and faith of 
being heard, God has promised to bless with success, 
and it is not above the reach of our natural ability 
and power." These sentiments, so opposed to Scrip- 
ture and the Confession of Faith, were openly avowed 
by Mr. Simson, yet he was neither removed from the 
professorship, nor censured for teaching them to the 
students. The ruling party in the Church dismissed 
the case by simply saying that the professor enter- 
tained some ideas not necessary to be taught in 
divinity — that he had used expressions that could be 
used in an unsound sense, and therefore he must be 
careful in future. The conduct of the majority in the 
Assembly was viewed with alarm by a large portion 
of the private membership. They felt there was a 
rapid decline from the purity of the faith and a great 
indifference to the cause of truth. Corruption in 
worship and error in doctrine seemed to be making 
rapid progress in the national Church. At this crisis 
some ministers noted for piety and faithfulness, as well 
as talent and learning, and who possessed the confi- 
dence and affection of the people, united their efforts 
to counteract the progress of error by diffusing among 
the people sound and scriptural doctrine. This was 
the occasion of a heated controversy in the Church, 
the effects of which were long felt and which was 



ERRORS IN THE CHURCH. I 59 

in many respects necessary to the interests of religion. 

This condition of things was the occasion of the 
issuing of several publications relating to the vital 
doctrines of Christianity. It was also the occasion of 
the republication of a book called the "Marrow of 
Modern Divinity." Rev. Thomas Boston accidentally 
saw a copy of the book when visiting one of his 
members and recommended it to some of his brethren 
as placing in a clear light the difference between the 
law and the gospel. It was in the form of stirring 
dialogues which brought into bold relief the peculiar 
doctrines of- grace. The book became a favorite 
among the people and threw the clergy into a fer- 
ment, which showed clearly that the Church had lost 
much of its zeal for Calvinistic truth, as well as its old 
polemical acumen. 

When the Assembly met an act was passed strictly 
prohibiting any one to recommend the '■ Marrow of 
Modern Divinity," either by printing, writing or 
preaching. The sum of the passages condemned was 
that there is an assurance in the nature of faith; that 
the offer of salvation is to everyone who hears it; that 
believers in Christ are delivered from the law as a 
covenant of works so as to be no more under either 
its commanding or condemning power; that the fear 
of hell as a punishment and the hope of heaven as a 
reward ought not to be the motives of obedience to 
believers. The Assembly strictly forbade the people 
to even read the book. This act caused great anxiety 
and distress to many excellent ministers and to many 
of the people, and they at once took steps to have the 
obnoxious measure repealed. A representation signed 



160 REMINISCENCES. 

by twelve ministers was placed before the Assembly in 
1 72 1, calling attention to the fact that precious truth 
had been condemned by prohibiting the reading of the 
"Marrow." The case did not come up till the Assem- 
bly met in 1722, when it explained its act of 1 7 20 
upon pretense of modifying it, but retained its worst 
features and ordered the brethren who had signed the 
representation to be rebuked. These brethren sub- 
mitted to the rebuke, but had previously prepared and 
subscribed a protest which one of their number imme- 
diately laid upon the table of the supreme court, in 
which they declared their determination to still preach 
and bear testimony to the truths condemned by the 
Assembly. The Assembly would doubtless have dealt 
severely with them and perhaps turned the Marrow 
men at that time into Seceders had it not been that a 
royal letter came enjoining peace at all hazards, and to 
this mandate the Assembly bowed in submission. 

However, the Marrow-men were subjected to great 
annoyance from their brethren. On the part of some 
it arose from a want of clear vision of divine truth. 
The connection between the law and the gospel was 
understood and defined by the Marrow-men and is the 
same as that held by evangelical Churches to-day. 
But a large majority of the clergy were at no pains to 
understand divine truth. 

Four years after this date it became notorious that 
Professor Simson was teaching to the students views 
more dangerous than those of the previous time. He 
denied the necessary existence of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, and when charges were brought against him he 
took refuge in evasive replies and metaphysical dis- 



MODERATISM. l6l 

tinctions in order to mislead. The Marrow-men plead 
for his deposition, but he had numerous and powerful 
friends who manceuvered to have him retained in the 
Church, but prohibited from teaching. Against this 
decision Rev. Thomas Boston stood out as a solitary- 
protestor, he being the only one of his party who was 
a member of Assembly that year. It was plain that 
the Church of the Second Reformation had fallen into 
serious decline. The preaching of a free and unre- 
stricted gospel was frowned upon and the power of the 
pulpit circumscribed in a great measure. Where, in 
times gone by, the sermon was wont to contain 
"doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righte- 
ousness," it had now degenerated into a short, point- 
less essay, with no unction or spirituality of tone — 
with no comfort or refreshment to a waiting congrega- 
tion. The people asked for bread and received a 
stone. Moderatism held sway and was determined to 
punish and weaken all opponents. The people 
groaned under the yoke of patronage, and the condi- 
tion of the Church was deplorable. At every meeting 
of Assembly a great deal of time was taken up in 
considering cases of appeal where violent settlements 
were made. In 1730 twelve cases are recorded as 
coming up for adjudication, and this Assembly refused 
to permit reasons of dissent from their judgment being 
entered on the records. The wonder is that such 
arbitrary proceedings were borne so long and so 
patiently. 

A result of all this was the alienation of the people 
from the Established Church and the determination of 
some of the ministers not to submit to such biased 
11 



1 62 REMINISCENCES. 

enactments. This brought into prominence Rev. 
Ebenezer Erskine, Rev. William Wilson, Rev. Alex- 
ander Moncrief and Rev. James Fisher, the fathers of 
the Secession Church of 1733. The act of Secession 
was a means of conserving those Reformation princi- 
ples which had cost them so dear in days gone by and 
was welcomed by the people all over the country. In 
two years seventy applications for supply of preaching 
were made by people who were in sympathy with the 
views of these heroic men. 

The University buildings are ample and imposing 
and situated in the midst of handsome grounds that 
speak for themselves. The library was established 
before the Reformation and is now a valuable collec- 
tion. There is a fine assortment of minerals, coins 
and anatomical preparations. The University is a sort 
of nucleus for the city and the citizens are justly proud 
of it. 

Near the center of the city is George's Square. In 
it is a fine statue of James Watt, the man who has 
done so much to extend the prosperity and glory of 
Glasgow. Born in Greenock, he was the greatest me- 
chanical genius of the age. It was his inventions 
applied to the steam-engine that made it the means of 
erecting all those huge factories and keeping their 
innumerable wheels and spindles and power looms in 
motion. Steam has added millions to the annual in- 
come of Glasgow, and wonderfully increased its 
commerce, as it has that of the whole world. In this 
square is a mounted statue of Sir John Moore, a citi- 
zen of Glasgow whose memory has been greatly 
honored by the Scottish people because he was one 



BOTHWELL BRIDGE. 1 63 

of their bravest patriots, and who is the subject of 
those exquisite lines beginning, 

" Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, 
As his corpse to the ramparts we hurried ; 
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot 
O'er the grave where our hero we buried." 

There is also a colossal statue of Sir Walter Scott 
here. It stands upon a fluted column, and he is repre- 
sented in an easy attitude with a shepherd's plaid 
enveloping his body. 

The system of street railways or "tram lines," as 
they are called there, is very convenient and cheap, 
and the water supply is all that could be desired. 
Years ago the city authorities obtained exclusive con- 
trol of Loch Katrine in the Highlands, and the water 
is brought to the city through great water pipes for 
many miles. The management is such that the works 
pay for their own maintenance and enlargement, while 
the water is abundant and most excellent. There are 
some wide and handsome streets in Glasgow, while 
others are narrow and crowded with a population that 
know nothing better than squalor and wretchedness. 
The problem is yet to be solved, How are the lapsed 
masses to be reached in all our large cities? The out- 
look for them is dreary indeed. 

The environs of Glasgow furnish bits of precious 
history. Among these places are Rutherglen and 
Bothwell Bridge, both of which we visited on a soft, 
dreamy day at the close of summer. Rutherglen is 
now a thriving suburb of the city. It was at this 
place that, on the 29th of May, 1679, a party of eighty 



164 REMINISCENCES. 

horsemen on the anniversary of the restoration of the 
Stuarts, rode into the town and extinguished the bon- 
fires kindled in honor of the day. This party 
belonged to the chased and tossed Covenanters, and 
they publicly burned all the acts of the Scottish Par- 
liament in favor of Prelacy and affixed to the market 
cross a protest against the proceedings of the govern- 
ment since the Restoration. The government took 
alarm at the bold act and placed the infamous John 
Graham of Claverhouse at the head of a body of 
troopers with full power to put to death all who were 
found in arms. 

An outgrowth of this proceeding was the battle of 
Bothwell Bridge, fought between the opposing forces, 
June 22, 1679, and very soon following the eventful 
day of June 1st, of the same year at Drumclog. 
Bothwell Bridge is six miles from Glasgow and is 
skirted by the town of Hamilton, a pretty village on 
the south bank of the Clyde in possession cf the Duke 
of Hamilton, whose Castle and grounds are close at 
hand. The Clyde at this point gives no hint of its 
importance at Glasgow. It is a shallow, silvery 
stream, flowing over a pebbly bed and between 
flowery banks and green pastures, innocent and for- 
getful now of the carnage that once stained its waters. 
The present bridge is a fine structure; the old one has 
passed into history. A rude monument evidently 
locates the old bridge upon the site of the new one 
and keeps in memory that fearful day. There is not 
space here to discuss the reasons for the slaughter and 
defeat of the Covenanter army encamped at the period 
of the battle on Hamilton moor where the village of 



A CRUEL FATE. 1 65 

Hamilton now stands. There were reasons; but the 
one that should satisfy us is this: It was in the pur- 
pose of God that the saints on earth at that time, the 
excellent ones, should be farther tried and made meet 
for the inheritance in heaven. " In the world ye shall 
have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have over- 
come the world." Not the slightest fragment of 
suffering will God give to his own children that is not 
necessary to make them white and clean and ready to 
enter the mansions on high. 

The bridge over the Clyde at that time was but 
twelve feet wide, with a gateway in the center, an ex- 
cellent fortification for the Covrnanters who held the 
bridge at fearful odds till their ammunition was ex- 
hausted; and then the merciless slaughter began. 
Four hundred fell in the battle and lay upon the field, 
and twelve hundred surrendered at discretion and were 
marched to Edinburgh, tied two and two and im- 
prisoned in Greyfriar's church-yard. There they 
remained closely watched for five months, sleeping 
at night among the graves without shelter or protec- 
tion from inclement weather and without nourishing 
food. The ruthless dragoons, not satisfied with the 
havoc, scattered over the neighborhood and put all to 
death whom they even suspected of being Presbyte- 
rians. 

The great majority of the persecuted ones were 
staunch supporters of monarchy and had no sympathy 
with republican principles. They took up arms 
simply in defense of the Protestant religion, Presby- 
terian government and their civil rights and liberties. 
Nor did they resort to extreme measures till every 



1 66 REMINISCENCES. 

other avenue was closed. The perfidious Charles II. 
was the rod of God's anger, the staff in his hand, to 
perform his work in preserving a pure worship these 
many years. The actors in this scene were chosen 
instruments to bring it all to pass. Charles Stuart and 
his minions meant it not for the purifying of the 
Church; therefore their punishment came after, while 
by trials the Church was beautified and lifted into 
clearer light. May it not be that she shall only arise 
and shine when she has passed through another period 
of fearful suffering? This seems to be the uniform 
mode by which the Head of the Church brings back 
his people when they forget their obligations to him 
and their relation to divine truth. The dross and 
filthiness must be burned away before the Bride can 
gracefully wear her adornments. The Day of the 
Lord burns as an oven. 



ROTHESAY. 167 



VIII. 

Rothesay, on the Island of Bute, had possessed for 
us a very pleasant sound for at least a decade. It was 
the abode of precious friends and therefore, it was with 
kindling feelings we sought the Broomielaw and em- 
barked in a steamer down the Clyde. A short sail 
brought us to Dumbarton Castle, situated on a rocky 
steep five hundred and sixty feet high, one mile in 
circumference. In stern and solitary majesty it stood 
with the walls partly fallen and halls desolate. The 
valley of the Clyde was anciently called Strathclutha, 
and Dumbarton was the Capital and Castle of the 
Strathclyde or Strathclutha Britons. Dumbarton is 
the Balclutha of Ossian, meaning a bulwark. He says, 
"The thistle shakes there its lonely head." The only 
genuine Scotch thistle grows wild on this rock. 

This rock-sealed Castle has been famous from the 
earliest periods of Scottish history, and many sad 
memories cluster around it. It was the scene of the 
betrayal of Sir William Wallace by the "fause Mon- 
teith." When Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was five 
years old she was given in marriage by the nation to 
the boy Francis, heir to the throne of France, and 
arrangements were at once completed to have her sent 
at that tender age to be educated at the court of 



1 68 REMINISCENCES. 

France until she was old enough to have the nuptials 
celebrated. The young Queen accompanied by the 
four Maries, who were to be her companions, was 
brought to Dumbarton Castle to embark in a French 
fleet floating in the river beneath the walls of the 
fortification. She was then playful and happy and 
left her native land to re-enter it and drink a full cup 
of bitterness which was filled by the unwise policy of 
the nation. In after years when overtaken by sorrow 
and disappointment — a fugitive and despairing — she 
sought this Castle as a refuge for a weary head and a 
wayward heart. From it she rode to Langside to 
watch eagerly the result of the battle that led to her 
pathetic imprisonment and death. The Castle has 
often been besieged and was once taken by scaling 
ladders on a dark and misty night. 

As we sailed the river widened, and the dark, dye- 
stained water that is constantly receiving a great 
burden of impurities from the numerous and immense 
textile factories along its banks, became purer and put 
on a brighter aspect. The Great Eastern, the vessel 
employed in laying the first ocean cable, was lying at 
anchor near the mouth of the river and greeted us as 
we passed. It has since been sold for its material, 
being too large and clumsy for use. Towns and 
clusters of houses line the banks of the Clyde, among 
them the historic city of Greenock. As we approached 
Rothesay, the hills of Argyleshire and the peaks of 
Arran presented a charming view. 

Rothesay, the capital of the Island of Bute, has a 
mild climate and is delightfully situated in a semi-circle 
that seems to clasp its beautiful bay as if it were a 



AN OLD RELIC. 1 69 

choice setting. It is the prince of watering places in 
Scotland, and in summer is quite a resort. We were 
not long in finding our warm-hearted friends, who not 
only extended the hospitalities of their home, but 
visited the places of interest with us. The royal 
Castle of Rothesay still stands, and is in a good state 
of preservation. There is no record of its age; but 
it is supposed from events mentioned in history to 
have been constructed in 1098. During the fierce 
struggles between Bruce and Baliol for the Scottish 
throne, it was a bone of contention and was held by 
each hostile party at different times. When Robert 
Bruce was securely seated upon the Scottish throne, 
this Castle became one of the seats of the royal family. 
His eldest son became the Duke of Rothesay, and the 
title has now descended to the Prince of Wales. It is 
still surrounded by a moat and has a drawbridge and 
portcullis with a dungeon, deep and dark. The en- 
trance to the latter is from the wide hallway now 
mouldy and desolate. The wall of this dungeon is 
circular and twelve feet thick. The whole structure is 
of stone, the oldest part being of a pinkish hue and 
so solidly made with a stone cement, now one of the 
lost arts, that it cannot be broken at the joints. 

In a little chamber six feet wide, the broken-hearted 
king Robert III. died. This once proud home of 
kings is but a monument of the past and is most in- 
teresting as such. What is now considered comfort 
in living it never could have possessed. It was simply 
a stronghold, a defense in that lawless period. The 
courtyard contains the walls of the chapel of St. 
Michael which served as the royal chapel, and there 



170 REMINISCENCES. 

are other buildings within it which probably furnished 
shelter for the town's people during a siege. The 
oldest hawthorn tree in Scotland is in the courtyard. 
It has a diameter of two and one half feet. It is bent 
with age, yet it is still green and flourishing and is 
preserved with the greatest care. The ancestors of 
the Marquis of Bute, who is the lord of the island, 
occupied the Castle part of the time during the last 
century. The present Marquis is scrupulously careful 
to preserve the gray ruin, and to even add to its 
attractions by a supervision that neglects nothing to 
show it in a favorable light. 

Rothesay as a place of residence is very attractive. 
Its industries do not employ a rude population, and 
the professional tramp is excluded by the " we jaw of 
water" which separates Bute from other portions of 
Scotland. The walks and drives over and around the 
island are very fine, as we realized by a spirited drive 
over the same and along its bars and promontories by 
the kindness of our friends. The. sea air was delightful 
and invigorating and the prospect charming. The 
lofty hills of the island of Arran in the distance, Goat- 
fell being three thousand feet above the sea, with the 
trembling sea between and the towering peaks of 
Argyleshire and its border of blue sea in another 
direction, presented a scene of rare loveliness. There 
were also stretches of purple heather in its wealth of 
flower and fragrance, and quiet homes dotted it here 
and there. All these homes pay tribute to the great 
Marquis of Bute, whose princely home is on Mount 
Stuart. The Marquis does much to beautify this 
island and develop its industries. He is a Roman 



A BEAUTIFUL RESORT. 171 

Catholic, a wealthy and aggressive one, though his 
antecedents were Episcopal. His munificent endow- 
ments for his Church in Scotland are causing consid- 
erable alarm. His immense wealth is enabling him to 
purchase valuable property and turn the buildings into 
Catholic schools, as he has done in the Shires of Ayr 
and Fife. 

Rothesay is famous for salt water bathing. The 
absence of dangerous tides and quicksands renders it 
quite safe, even to those who are not swimmers. 
Boating is also much enjoyed as a pastime, and hun- 
dreds of boats of all sizes play and sport upon the 
placid waters of the bay. The water supply of the 
city is good and the city has a neat and tidy appear- 
ance. A citizen's fair was in progress during our stay 
which was thronged with fun-ioving people. The 
extemporized hall resounded with merriment, and the 
various bazars not only displayed large quantities of 
fancy articles, but many of handsome pattern and 
execution. One of the attractions was a live member 
of Parliament, who stood at a bazar in the center of 
the hall and handled the articles with the ease and 
dignity of one who could play this part well in life's 
drama. We carried away with us a lively recollection 
of this important and gentlemanly personage. 

On the Sabbath we worshiped in the Free churches; 
in the morning in the Free Gaelic on Chapel Hill. 
The devotional spirit of the worshipers and the 
mournful cadences of a language that is passing away 
were very impressive. In the evening the same minis- 
ter preached in another church in English. The 
Sabbath was to us a day of precious rest, always 



172 REMINISCENCES. 

coming with its sanctifying influence as an earnest of 
the quiet and joy of heaven. We cannot imagine 
what a pandemonium the world would be without this 
gift to man. We can only approximate the confusion 
and wickedness by looking upon the heathen world in 
its wretchedness and woe. Let us be very jealous of 
any encroachment upon the holy Sabbath. 

Early on Monday morning we steamed out of 
Rothesay Bay on board the Columba for Fort Wil- 
liam. Our friends gave us a "Scotch convoy" as far 
as Ardrieshaig and pointed out the interesting places 
as we moved along the winding way. On the one 
side the lofty bens and jagged promontories of Ar- 
gyleshire, with their green carpet of ferns and mosses 
stood sentinel, while on the other side were the gentle 
slopes and coveys and green banks of Bute. We 
were sailing leisurely toward the Highlands of Scot- 
land, indeed looking out upon them and recalling bits 
of song and story that spoke of courage true. Fiery 
ardor whispered in the winds and echoed from height 
to height and thrilled around ruined castles and 
thatched cottages overlooking the watery way. 

The Kyles of Bute are a most charming surprise. 
The sea here narrows and twists around points and 
promontories, till the water appears only as a small 
silver cord lost in front amid towering hills which 
apparently stop farther progress. But suddenly the 
boat shoots from its hiding and glides into a broad and 
beautiful sheet of water with gentle undulations, at the 
side of which stands the pretty and thriving village of 
Tighnabruaich, a Gaelic word for House of the Brae. 
A government officer, a typical Scotchman, belonging 



A PLEASANT RUN. 173 

to Clan Lamont, was on board, and after the introduc- 
tion it seemed to be his delight to refer in his conver- 
sation to as many unpronouncable names in the 
Highlands as possible. His speech was rapid and 
interesting and gave us a John Gilpin tilt after the 
meaning. Any inquiry brought him to a halt laugh- 
ing. He was familiar with every point in the journey, 
and entertained us with incidents and legends by the 
score. 

We were soon sailing in Loch Fyne,with the village 
of Tarbert nestled on its banks. It is the fishermen's 
home, and this loch is their harvest field. Dozens of 
small boats with black sails, manned by fishermen, 
were out upon the water plying their trade, this being 
the season for those delicate and toothsome fishes, the 
herring and salmon. Those of this loch are deservedly 
famous. Overlooking the town is an old Castle built 
by Robert Bruce in 1 326. At Ardrieshaig on Loch- 
gilphead, the " convoy " ended, and we were transferred 
to the Linnet for the Crinan Canal. The canal is nine 
miles long, with nine locks at short spaces for a start. 
We preferred to walk from lock to lock and revel in 
the stretch of most magnificent scenery. At Cairn- 
baan we lunched upon genuine Highland oat cakes, 
butter and milk. The habitations are all banked 
against the solid stone of a great mountain that cuts 
down in almost a straight line to the base. Cairnbaan 
means white cairn and gets its name from the location 
of a cairn in which was found a stone coffin. The 
scene all along was one of lonely grandeur, at times 
weird and ghostly. Peaks and crags with dark, 
mossy dells and bounding waterfalls were often all in 



1^4 REMINISCENCES. 

the view at one time, as well as the characteristic piper 
in kilt and tartan, blowing his bagpipe for a few pen- 
nies. He was always accompanied with at least half 
a score of hungry, bare-footed children of both sexes, 
whose occupation was to scramble after the pieces of 
coin scattered indiscriminately by the passengers. 
Some of them had bright faces that started a sugges- 
tion that a jewel was waiting for the modeling knife 
and the polish. 

As we sailed on, the peaks became cloud-capped 
and frowning like an embattled host sleeping upon 
their arms. A human habitation was not thought of; 
and yet we sometimes came upon a little garden spot 
in the wildness with a neatly thatched Highland cot, 
whitewashed and tidy. A cow, some sheep and some 
fowls, and the simple wants of these mountaineers 
seemed to be supplied. The rowan tree grows here 
on its native soil, and often from some projection amid 
the green foliage of the tree hung great bunches of 
scarlet berries in such profusion and richness as we 
had never seen it elsewhere. It certainly had donned 
its holiday dress. 

Sailing close to the mainland of Argyleshire, which 
is called the district of Lorn, the scene is enlivened 
with ruined Castles, old and enchanting, and houses 
of greatness among the rifts of rock which once served 
as a defense. Among them is Downie House, where 
the poet Campbell spent part of his early life, and 
where he wrote " Lord Ullin's Daughter," the scene of 
the fine ballad being in the neighborhood. Very soon, 
however, we were in the waters of the broad Atlantic 
fringed with "Dark Mull" and its bold black bluffs and 



OBAN. 175 

lofty mountains. We passed, historic Kerrera and 
Gylen Castle, once a stronghold of the MacDougalls 
of Lorn. Dunollie Castle, the chief stronghold of the 
Lords of Lorn, is most picturesquely situated on a 
tongue of land that projects far out in the water. The 
ivy-clad keep is standing, but all else of the great 
structure is a heap of stones and broken walls and 
ruined terraces. A lineal descendant of this house is 
Colonel MacDougall whose mansion stands near the 
ruin. He still preserves the Brooch of Lorn, snatched 
by his ancestor from the shoulder of Robert Bruce. 

Oban, a beautiful city rapidly rising to importance 
as the capital city of the West Highlands, stands out 
boldly, and it quite captivated us as we touched the 
pier. This city is a summer resort for tourists, who 
can from that point easily reach all the lovely and in- 
teresting places in the Highlands. 

Soon we entered Loch Linnhe, greeting Dunstafnage 
Castle at the water line upon a wooded peninsula, with 
the mountains of Ben Cruachan for a background. 
Dunstafnage is thought to be of Pictish origin. For a 
long time the famous coronation stone brought from 
Ireland by Fergus, afterwards taken to Scone and now 
in Westminster Abbey, was kept in the Castle. It 
was the seat of government till 845, when king Ken- 
neth MacAlpine removed it to Scone. A little farther 
on are Ossian's Falls of Lora, and by and by comes 
Stalker Castle, formerly one of the seats of the power- 
ful family of the Stuarts of Appin, who warmly 
espoused the cause of the Stuarts in the Rebellion of 
1745. A cave is pointed out as a place of concealment 
after the battle of Culloden, until Prince Charles es- 



1 76 REMINISCENCES. 

caped to France. As our steamer slowed up to the 
pier at Ballachulish, we caught sight of the great bulk 
of Ben Nevis, his crown with half his body clothed in 
impenetrable mourning, tearful in cloudland. 

Ballachulish is situated at the edge of Loch Leven, 
the entrance to Glencoe, the latter not only celebrated 
for the terrible massacre of the MacDonalds by the 
Campbells, but also for the wildness and sublimity of 
its scenery. The valley of Glencoe is eight miles long 
and is traversed by a mountain stream called the 
Cona. The shadows of evening were gathering as we 
entered Loch Leven and the district of Lochaber in 
Inverness-shire. The dusky lines increased and grew 
almost human as they fell away from view in the 
dreamy darkness ere we reached Fort William, our 
destination. We found lodging in the McGilvry 
Hotel — a temperance house of the Waverly class. 
Scotland is battling manfully with the demon, strong 
drink. In many rural places it is banished, and even 
in Edinburgh it would be, if the voice of the majority 
were heard. O ! how we long for her to rise in majesty 
as in martyr days, and strike at the root as Knox did 
that of Romanism! The drink traffic everywhere is 
only evil and that continually, and God will in his own 
time destroy it and disappoint all its supporters. Let 
us all see to it that we have clean hands in dealing 
with this system of iniquity. 

Fort William is a Highland town of about 5000 in- 
habitants, situated on Loch Aber at the head of the 
Caledonian Canal. The foundation is an immense 
rock that rises from the Loch, and the town clings to 
it confidingly. The houses are so compact that the 



BEN NEVIS. 177 

whole seems like a great castle with turrets and towers 
and halls. After a refreshing sleep and a substantial 
breakfast and the purchase of canes, we began to take 
in a most bewildering scene of new and rapturous 
beauty. We, with other tourists, took the way to 
Ben Nevis along the banks of the clear and swift 
running Nevis. Before and around us were giant 
masses of mountain heights whose sterile altitudes 
were among the clouds. It was not one but many, 
although Ben Nevis is the monarch of them all. The 
great Ben lifts itself abruptly and proudly. Looking 
up, it seems an immense solid wall lost in the clear 
sky overhead. It is conical in shape, twenty-four 
miles in circumference at the base and 4406 feet high 
above the sea, near which it stands. 

With eager looking, we passed the lowly, rural 
scenes along Glen Nevis and with alacrity began the 
ascent. As we climbed we were struck dumb with 
the singular variety and luminous beauty and vastness 
of the panorama extending in every direction. The 
wild hills of Lochaber were aflame with touches of the 
sunrise, and the countless shoulders and peaks of hills, 
stretching away to Glencoe and Morven in the east 
and Arisaig in the west, soon took on the tints of 
purple and rose and gold and gray. The day was un- 
usually helpful to our purpose. Not a cloud was to 
be seen, and the atmosphere was remarkably clear. 
The pathway up the steep mountain side was a sharp- 
turning, zigzag one cut out of the everlasting rock, 
and it often ran at the edge of a dizzy precipice, over 
which hung festoons of ferns and long mosses. Great 
gorges and roaring cataracts regaled and frightened us 
12 



I78 REMINISCENCES. 

by turns, as we pursued our way and wonderingly 
rose higher. The waters of the Loch two miles away, 
lay like polished silver, and at our height, as still as 
the azure above us, while the mighty mountain began 
now to tower above the wilderness of lower hills that 
crowd around it. There were dots of houses far away 
and strips of pasture with sheep so small, at our dis- 
tance they seemed only in miniature. 

At about one half the height a warm glow lit up 
the granite peaks and scars and fissures of the monster, 
as we lingered for a breathing spell on a bit of level 
caused by the lifting of a huge shoulder of the moun- 
tain. Upon this level space was a dark tarn or loch, 
as still as the grave, in a semi-circle of masses of rock, 
perhaps 2000 feet high. Nothing could be more 
desolate, more suggestive of the wraiths and voices 
and apparitions that still linger in old ballads and 
mountain firesides. Each tourist silently pursued his 
or her own way, so that we were alone in the awful 
solitude. Between our path and the brink of the tarn 
was a deep, impassable moss, out of which spouted a 
clear, golden stream of water that leaped into the 
abyss below. A bridge spanned the burnie, and after 
resting our now weary feet, we began to discuss the 
next move. Thinking we had already as much as we 
could digest, we spoke of returning. 

A small party came upon us as we sat by the way- 
side, looking up ruefully at the interminable field of 
bare, broken granite, the summit still far out of sight. 
These persons were very cheerful, and their words so 
stirred our lagging zeal that our resolve was quickly 
made, and we zigzagged up and up more leisurely, 



IMPRESSIONS. 179 

now often pausing in mute astonishment at the sub- 
limity of the scene. The hand of feeble man was not 
here. The God of the universe spake to us and we 
were silent and abased; we were but puny worms of 
the dust; a few moments more and we were to pass 
forever. But our God is a mighty one, the Lord of 
hosts, who abides forever. "Thou didst cleave the 
earth with rivers. The mountains saw thee and they 
trembled; the overflowing of the water passed by." 

And now there were no steep mossy slopes scarred 
with numberless water channels; a single streamlet 
leaped and brawled in a chasm with a refreshing 
sound. Our vision caught nothing but blocks and 
chips of sterile rock, heaps upon heaps apparently 
rising perpendicularly into the sky. There were no 
more soft outlines. The bleak gray masses were 
sharp and angular, and every spear of vegetable life 
had fled. The path over the splintered rocks became 
sharper, and the upward struggle seemed one of insur- 
mountable difficulty. Great memorial cairns of the 
gray rock were erected at intervals to relieve the 
monotony, and we were enlivened and cheered by 
other climbers up and down. At 3 P. M. we reached 
the summit and were richly rewarded. 

" O for a sight of Ben Nevis ; 
Methinks I see him now, 
As the morning sunlight crimsons 
The snow-wreath on his brow." 

The top encloses about ten acres, clothed with the 
sharp pointed gray rock, tossed and broken as if by 
some violent convulsion. At one edge a great fissure 
opening deep in the rock leads off to a frightful preci- 



180 REMINISCENCES. 

pice more than IOOO feet deep. In this fissure the 
snow lay compact and icy, as if it had lain for years. 
The view was the most strikingly sublime we had ever 
seen. As far as our range of vision, nothing was met 
but a perfect wilderness of crowns and peaks in 
thoughtful attitude and in stern, immovable majesty. 
There seemed to be thousands of them, with Ben 
Nevis as king upon an exalted throne now clear as 
amber. We had time to look in speechless wonder, 
and then the mist closed the scene like a curtain, 
leaving a waste of impenetrable gray. This formless 
vacancy of vapor seemed to approach and completely 
encircle us; so that we were afraid to move lest we 
should step suddenly down iooo feet. It lasted but a 
minute, and the gray gulf parted asunder and the 
radiant sunlight glinted upon the wavy masses of rock 
and lighted up with most inspiring brilliancy the 
thousand bens that crowded each other from sea to 
sea. An army they were, giving honor to this king 
of their realm. The air was buoyant, the situation 
unique, and the feeling came that we were suspended 
between the earth and the heavens and needed but 
slight exertion to sail from point to point at will. 
While we were amazed at the majesty and power of 
God, a dense cloud again enveloped us, and we stood 
cloaked and bonneted with a thick gray mist. The 
great mountain had shut out all intruders for a season 
of rest, and we could hear nothing but the dripping 
water leaping into the gloomy abyss below. 

The bleak and lonely solitude upon the top of Ben 
Nevis is brightened by a little caravansary, where a 
pleasant welcome awaits tourists, and we were glad to 






. life's journey. 181 

rest awhile in the warm and friendly shelter and re- 
fresh ourselves with a cup of hot tea, scone and butter. 
Great Britain has established an observatory on this 
top for scientific purposes which is supported at con- 
siderable cost. Nine months of the year the summit 
is inaccessible, so that all provisions, coal, and the 
necessaries of life have to be transported on the backs 
of mules during the remaining three months. A 
genial party of tourists adding to the pleasure of their 
travel by taking photographs with instruments which 
they carried, took advantage of a sunny moment and 
all present grouped together for a picture, which was 
quite a success on the part of the mountain. 

At 4 P. M. we began the descent. The ascent oc- 
cupied six hours and there were some forebodings lest 
darkness should catch us far from shelter. But the 
evening was now clear, and we often made time by 
slipping from point to point of the zigzag way. The 
mellow light of evening was waning into the silver 
clear twilight when we reached the tarn, and night 
seemed closing upon the world when more than one 
third the distance was to travel. There was still a 
glow in the west that reflected the delicate shading of 
the retreating bens up Glencoe, and we hasted to 
make the best of our time. Once we wandered from 
the way in trying to shorten our journey, and the 
horror of being lost amid such desolation confronted 
us, as well as our approach to a fearful precipice. 
Nothing is gained and much nearly always lost by 
leaving the beaten path in passing through a danger- 
ous and wilderness way. It was to us an example of 
life's journey through the wilderness of this world. 



1 82 REMINISCENCES. 

That journey is short at farthest. Eternity has no end. 
How suicidal to leave the beaten track of God's 
plainly revealed will along which the saints, the dear 
ones in God's sight, have trodden in all ages. They 
have left memorials and tablets and beacon lights at 
every turn to cheer us on and strengthen us, and the 
journey can neither be shortened nor made more 
beautiful by a deviation from what God has directed, 
either for practical life or worship. Faithfulness in 
this course cheered the hearts of our dear fathers and 
mothers who have gone to our Father's house from 
this land, and the same path would not only cheer, but 
elevate and enonble us, if we would follow it and 
avoid the pitfalls and precipices and desolation of new 
and forbidden ways. 

We made the descent in five hours, and the shadows 
of night had fallen, enfolding the shepherd and the 
sheep, the hills and the valleys and all the creeping 
things of life in balmy sleep when we reached the base. 
Here we were joined by the two lively Highlanders, 
tourists who had captured the mountain top and all 
that was on it in their view. One was a MacDougall 
of Lorn and the other a Stuart. Their interesting 
conversation and the events of the day beguiled the 
minutes and refreshed us till we reached our little 
hotel, where a home-like and kindly welcome awaited 
us, and we listened to the cheerful sallies from the 
tourists around the tea table and forgot our weary 
feet. A friend gave the following as characteristic of 
the Highlanders. Donald from the Highlands was em- 
ployed on a boat plying between Glasgow and 
Greenock. When they were well on their way, a 






A CHARACTER. 1 83 

woman who was a passenger came to Donald and told 
him to put off her basket at the next pier. When the 
pier was reached Donald prepared to execute her will; 
but the woman came forward and said, imperiously, 
" It's no this pier, but the next one." The same thing 
was repeated at the approach of the second and third 
piers, the woman each time vociferating loudly, "I 
dinna want it off there." Donald lost his patience 
and told her to take her basket and go to the infernal 
regions. She was highly incensed and went to the 
captain. The captain called for Donald, and he con- 
fessed, saying that she pestered him so, he could not 
help it. The captain told him he must apologize to 
the woman or he would lose his place. "But what 
shall I say?" said Donald. "Tell her you did not 
mean it." Off started Donald, thinking discretion 
better than valor and asked the woman if she was the 
one he had ordered to another world, and she replied 
indignantly that she was. "Ah weel," said Donald, 
"the captain bid me to say to ye that ye need'na go 
there the noo." 



1 8 4 REMINISCENCES. 



IX. 

The Highlands of Scotland are somewhat unequally 
divided by a chain of beautiful lochs, running through 
the Great Glen of Caledonia, forming some of the 
wildest and richest scenery in the world. The High- 
landers are the primitive race. Many of them speak 
the Gaelic, an energetic tongue that is fast dying out. 
They are remarkably acute, courteous and agreeable, 
and love with intensity their native heath. 

The religion of the Highlands is ably set forth by a 
late writer in the Original Secession Magazine. 
From it we glean a few facts. This writer thinks there 
is a marked difference between the religion of the 
north and south of Scotland, and that it may be 
traced to the conservative views of the Highlanders 
and their dislike of introducing fashion into religion. 
He also thinks that a Covenanter of the seventeenth 
century would regard the Highlander's views of doc- 
trine, discipline and worship as harmonizing with his 
own far better than those of the South. In the houses 
of the poor crofters and cotters a little shelf of books 
will be found. In addition to the Bible and Shorter 
Catechism are Pilgrim's Progress, Rutherford's Let- 
ters, Boston's Fourfold State, the Scots' Worthies and 
the sermons of Erskine, Flavel and Owen. A con- 



SETTLED FAITH, 1 85 

versation with the humble owner of these faded vol- 
umes would reveal the fact that they were read and 
marked and digested. The doctrines and experiences 
of the owner would be found in perfect agreement 
with the views of the writers. This writer found even 
the boatmen in the extreme Highlands discussing the- 
ology in a way that showed that religion was their 
life and was in harmony with the doctrines of the 
Confession of Faith. 

Among national transactions, few events will com- 
pare with the solemn signing of the Covenant in 
Greyfriar's church, Edinburgh, in February, 1638. At 
that time the aged Earl of Sutherland from the ex- 
treme Highlands was deeply moved, and the first to 
affix his signature to the National Covenant. Among 
modern divines in the Highlands, Dr. Kennedy, of 
Dingwall, was a power. He won the hearts of the 
Gaelic people by gospel preaching and stood as a wall 
of adamant also with the Highlanders against hymn- 
singing and instrumental music. He viewed with 
suspicion the revival movements of our time as lead- 
ing to superficial views of divine truth and unscriptural 
practices. He endorsed what Hugh Brown of Liver- 
pool wrote in his note book: "The greatest marvel of 
Moody and Sankey's work is not the conversion of 
souls to God, but the conversion of Presbyterians to a 
little, tooting American organ." And thus the High- 
lander of to-day stands in the old paths, the paths our 
fathers trod. 

When morning dawned we took passage for Glas- 
gow. A Scotch mist prevailed, and the magnificent 
scenery was in cloudland. But we were much inter- 



1 86 REMINISCENCES. 

ested and amused with a little party of Highlanders 
who were herding a flock of black-faced sheep at the 
bow of the boat. They shouted in Gaelic to their 
Gaelic sheep and they understood it. We had to 
confess to one instance in which the sheep were in ad- 
vance of us. 

The incident brought to mind one of Dean Ram- 
sey's anecdotes. During the French war two old 
ladies were on their way to the kirk. One said to the 
other, "Was it no a wonderfu' thing that the Breetish 
were aye victorious over the French in battle?" "Not 
a bit," was the reply; "dinna ye ken the Breetish aye 
say their prayers before ga'in into battle?" The other 
replied, "But canna the French say their prayers as 
weel?" Quickly the response came, "Hoot! the jab- 
bering bodies! who can understand them?" 

Our hearts were lingering in the North of Scotland, 
when we set our faces toward Glasgow; for we had 
hoped to go farther and visit Inverness. But time 
does not wait for tourists. They have no more immu- 
nities from its rapid transit than the rest of mankind, 
and we submitted to the inevitable. If we could at all 
times bring our aspirations into subjection to the 
divine mind perfectly, and so realize the full extent of 
that truth, "All things work together for good to them 
that love God, to them that are the called according 
to his purpose," then we would be more occupied 
with "diligence to make our calling and election 

sure." 

" All is best, tho' we oft doubt 
What the unsearchable dispose 
Of highest wisdom brings about, 
And ever best found in the close." 






STRATHAVEN. 1 87 

The Sabbath we spent in Glasgow and worshiped 
with the Original Secession congregation that worships 
on Mains Street. We heard two excellent sermons by 
Rev. Mr. Smiley, of Stranraer, who occupied the pul- 
pit that day, the pastor, Prof. Aitkin, being absent. 
Early the next morning we took the train for Strath- 
aven, sixteen miles south of Glasgow. Strathaven is 
situated on the strath or valley of Aven water; hence 
its name. It is a clear, sparkling stream that dances 
merrily on to the sea distributing dewdrops over a 
smiling valley and awakening to life plant and shrub 
and flower. The ground rising from the Strath is un- 
dulating, reaching in a gentle swelling of hills and 
slopes to quite an elevation, from the top of which the 
country around is a lovely panorama including many 
interesting places. 

The village has burst its boundaries and is spreading 
out over the uplands in beautiful modern dwellings 
making handsome suburbs. Historic Strathaven has 
the narrow streets with sharp turns and the projecting 
corners, suggesting defense and the coming of a deadly 
foe. These old streets branch off from the main thor- 
oughfare at any angle that seems most secure for the 
dwellers in the compacted buildings that form a sort 
of bulwark along the way. A little song-loving stream 
dashes through the place to the Aven and is spanned 
by one of those quaint old bridges elevated in the 
center and about wide enough for a modern cart to 
get safely over. The villagers live in this quiet nook, 
satisfied with its joys and tender memories which are 
infinitely better than the gaieties and feverish ambi- 
tions of a great city. " Content in the low vale of 



1 88 REMINISCENCES. 

life" is a princely inheritance. But it is possessed by 
the few. 

The absorbing industry of this place has been silk 
weaving in the past, performed entirely upon hand 
looms. On some streets the click of the shuttle and 
the pounding together of the gauzy threads of silk 
make cheerful notes of industry. Much of the hand- 
loom work, however, is being superseded by machinery, 
while the industry is enlarged to include other fabrics. 

Strathaven is more than seven-hilled. Its founda- 
tion is exclusively hills and abrupt valleys. Upon the 
highest crest stands the ruined Castle of Lord Avon- 
dale whose life went out obscurely and suspiciously 
many years ago, and his houses and lands passed into 
other hands. There is nothing left now of the Castle 
except the solid walls and desolate windows and door 
openings. It is even scarcely picturesque. We climbed 
over crags and herbage to the top and found only a 
scene of waste and mould upon lintel and door post. 
A story of a dark plot and a deed of violence haunts 
the deserted halls, but the actors have all passed from 
the scene, and only tradition remains. 

In the old graveyard, upon a beautiful slope that 
overlooks the country for miles, two martyrs of the 
Covenant sleep beneath the grass and daisies. William 
Patterson and John Barrie await upon this knoll the 
resurrection morn, when death shall be vanquished, its 
sting removed, and the awful solemnity with which it 
is invested in this life shall for the believer be turned 
into unspeakable joy. Christ will not disown one of 
his blood-bought children. Not one of them that 
loved not their lives unto the death for him shall 



CLAVERHOUSE. 1 89 

perish. Precious is their dust and their memory is 
blessed. Strathaven honors her martyr dead and has 
erected a monument to their memory with suitable 
inscription. A modern cemetery is added to the an- 
cient burial place and is well kept and attractive. 

About half way up the acclivity on which the cem- 
etery stands is a solidly built inn more than two 
hundred years old. It is two stories high, heavy 
looking, with masonry dingy and unkempt, as if it 
were shunned by the light of day. It possesses a 
tragic interest. When martyrs for Christ's crown and 
covenant were falling thickly upon mountain and upon 
moor, and Death on his pale horse seemed triumphing 
over Scotland, this village was thrown into consterna- 
tion by the arrival of a body of royal troopers. They 
dashed into the town on a quiet Sabbath morning, 
June I, 1679. The brutal John Graham of Claver- 
house was their commander. He rode up to this inn, 
took an upper room and called for breakfast for 
himself and suite. While sipping their wine by the 
west window they could plainly see companies of de- 
voted Covenanters wending their way from diverging 
points to a retreat at the edge of a moss five miles 
away in the Parish of Avondale called Drumclog. 

The worshipers were to celebrate the last supper of 
our Lord in the open air and enjoy that communion 
with God that hunted and persecuted ones receive 
with most delightful spiritual relish. This fiend in 
human form, inflamed with wine, thoroughly aroused, 
sounded the alarm and called "to horse." Away he 
galloped at the head of his dragoons to slaughter and 
disperse this conventicle. He thirsted so for blood 



I90 REMINISCENCES. 

that, seeing a man taking a drink from a well by the 
wayside, he interrogated him as to his destination, and 
not receiving a prompt answer, shot him through the 
heart. This was preparatory to the wicked drama en- 
acted in the afternoon of that day. 

We had now entered what may be safely termed 
martyr land. It includes the West and South of 
Scotland and is rich in historic memories of the Cove- 
nant. All lands are proud of their patriot sons — a 
generous and noble pride, born of the gratitude we 
ought to feel toward those who hazard their lives for 
the public weal. The memory of Bruce and Wallace 
still stirs the heart of Scotland. But she has an added 
enthusiasm in a deep and fervent love for her martyr 
sons. They sleep their last sleep on mountain and on 
moor, in quiet graveyards and on mossy hillsides. 
The author of The Homes, Haunts and Battlefields of 
the Covenanters beautifully writes: "There is nothing 
which so much strikes the pilgrim among the Scottish 
mountains, especially in the southern and western dis- 
tricts, as the frequency with which he so unexpectedly 
comes upon the Martyrs' cairns, or the more ambitious 
monuments which have been raised by an admiring 
posterity to men whose mouldering bones have had a 
burial of blood in those days of darkness and death." 

The morning of August 24th was crisp and fresh, 
and a few minutes after the dawn we were seated in a 
wagonette — an open, light-running vehicle — provided 
by our friends who accompanied us. Our destination 
was the battlefield of Drumclog, five miles distant, and 
our way was the identical highway which Claverhouse 
galloped over for his bloody work on that calm Sab- 



DRUMCLOG. 191 

bath morning, June 1, 1679. There were now green 
fields and carefully kept hedges. There were contented 
flocks of sheep and herds of fine cattle. It was a 
smiling landscape, an upland with gentle swells and 
tinkling streams of water. By the wayside a moss- 
covered well of water was pointed out. It looked 
picturesque and refreshing as if a blessing was in it, 
and so, doubtless, it has been a blessing to myriads. 
It has given out its beneficent waters for hundreds of 
years. It is called the Well of Wallace. Beside its 
curb the tragedy before referred to was enacted. A 
way-faring man was taking a drink from this well as 
Claverhouse rode past, and because the man did not 
quickly answer a question impudently put to him, the 
tyrant raised his pistol, shot him and left him dead 
upon the spot. As we approached Drumclog the out- 
look changed into a dreary moorland, with huge 
heathy hills, interspersed with morasses and stretches 
of blooming heather. The whole range is intersected 
by moss hags, or deep, ragged gulleys that have 
broken through the black vegetable soil out of which 
grows the heather, and which conceals great beds of 
peat moss that may yet be found to be the best fer- 
tilizer in the world. 

When we reached an eminence called Calder Hill, 
we saw a monument enclosed in an iron railing about 
half way up the steep. This is the spot where victory 
was achieved by the Covenanters on that memorable 
Sabbath day, begun with earnest praises and agonizing 
prayers to God and ended in bloody carnage. The 
hill slopes down to a little meandering stream of water, 
which was at that time a deep moss hag, spongy with 



192 REMINISCENCES. 

swamp and mosses. On the opposite acclivity the 
Covenanters were assembled for worship. They had 
come by families, the lisping infant and the gray head 
with trembling pace by the aid of a staff, with the 
robust and hardy sons and daughters of a most perilous 
time. They knew the danger. Every soul was aflame 
with appeals to God for help in this time of need. 
What child of God has not passed through such mo- 
ments of agony, buoyed above terror with the arm of 
omnipotence always sufficient? The worshipers had 
posted sentinels on different points adjacent and had 
seated themselves for worship on the green sward 
overlooking this gloomy expanse. The morning Psalm 
had been sung, "the melody of joy and praise," and 
earnest prayer had been offered to their covenant- 
keeping God. The following is from an officer who 
fought that terrible day: "We had assembled not to 
fight but to worship the God of our fathers. We were 
far from the tumult of cities. The long, dark heath 
waved around us; and we disturbed no living creatures 
save the lapwing and the heather-cock. As usual we 
had come armed. It was for self-defense. * * * 
The venerable Douglass had commenced the solemni- 
ties of the day, and was speaking of the evils of 
tyranny. Our souls were on fire at the remembrance 
of our country's sufferings and the wrongs of the 
Church. In this moment of intense feeling our watch- 
man posted on the neighboring heights fired his 
carbine and ran toward the congregation. He an- 
nounced the approach of the enemy. We raised our 
eyes to the minister. 'I have done,' said Douglass 
with his usual firmness, 'you have the theory, now for 



THE BATTLE. 1 93 

the practice; you know your duty. Self-defense is 
always lawful. But the enemy approaches.' He 
raised his eyes to heaven and uttered a prayer — brief 
and emphatic." Instantly the aged men, their gray 
hairs streaming in the wind, with the women and 
children, fell back singing one of Israel's grand old 
prophetic war songs, and the able-bodied men fell into 
battle array singing with the retiring multitude, 

" There arrows of the bow he brake, 
The shield, the sword, the war 
More glorious thou than hills of prey ; 
More excellent art far. 

" Those that were stout of heart are spoiled, 
They slept their sleep outright ; 
And none of those their hands did find, 
That were the men of might. 

" When thy rebuke, O Jacob's God, 
Had forth against them passed, 
Their horses and their chariots both 
Were in a dead sleep ca-t." 

At the edge of the deep moss hag they planted 
themselves to meet the rapidly advancing foe. There 
was no panic, but there was Christian courage of men 
who dared to do right because their God was to them 
the God of battles. The royal troops came on at a 
gallop, and being unacquainted with the marshy na- 
ture of the ground, the Covenanters saw the moment 
of advantage, leaped the moss hag and charged the 
enemy. The royalists were totally routed. They 
turned and fled, leaving a number dead upon the field. 
Claverhouse had given orders to shoot all prisoners, 
13 



194 REMINISCENCES. 

but he so narrowly escaped with his own life that the 
order was disregarded. 

Much of the moorland of Drumclog is now re- 
deemed and under cultivation. The moss hag is a 
pleasant streamlet. An academy where boys and 
girls are educated stands beside its waters. The mon- 
ument where victory was gained is of gray granite, 
stately in style and pleasing in effect. After fixing 
this most interesting spot in our minds, we drove on 
over these royal highways banked on either side with 
green hedge-rows and drew up at Loudoun Hill, a 
wild and rock-bound eminence, rising abruptly out of 
the expanse of hill and dale. Upon this craggy 
height, one mile from Drumclog, stood the sentinel 
that gave the alarm on that eventful Sabbath morning. 
We toiled and climbed to the top of the rock, perhaps 
300 feet high, and sat down among the gray mosses 
and gazed upon a scene of rare loveliness. There 
were mansions and farm lands and evidences of thrift 
and enterprise everywhere, in contrast with that 
gloomy other time in which the present prosperity 
had its birth. 



AN OLD TOWN. 195 



X. 

At Newmilns in Ayrshire we bade our kind friends 
good-bye, after visiting the interesting places with 
them. Newmilns is a manufacturing town upon Irvine 
water. Nottingham laces are woven here and delicate, 
gauzy silks for the India market. The weaving of 
these two frail textures is very interesting, revealing 
great ingenuity and taste on the part of the inventors. 
The fabrics are among the marvels of human inge- 
nuity. 

The town is rich in historic lore, like all the West 
country. It has an old part, so distinctly old, so de- 
cidedly the type of the heroic age that a strange 
sensation crept over us as we looked at the habitations, 
quaint, compact, irregular, with the marks of many 
generations stamped upon every feature. At intervals 
there were closes and projections and dormer windows 
indicating means of defense. 

Upon a slight elevation stands a small ancient castle 
of the 1 2th century, now called the Ducat Tower. It 
resembles a great heap of rude stones. The windows 
are simply openings into a dark and dingy interior, 
and desolation is written upon every outline. It 
stands, because Scotland, as England and Ireland, re- 
veres her marvelous history. This is one of her 



196 REMINISCENCES. 

monuments. We would not regard it with favor, and 
would sweep it away; but why should we wish to 
destroy one link in the perfect chain, when God in his 
wonderful purposes brings such strong and beautiful 
light out of darkness? God's own redeemed ones 
have nothing of which to glory. They are dug out 
of the darkness of natural heathenism, and the thought 
should humble them, and often they should look back 
and rejoice in the new life that stands out strong by 
contrast. During what is called in history "the killing 
time," this Castle was used as a fortress for the royal 
troopers. From the battlement the Covenanter John 
Law was shot in his own yard. His house now stands 
in the shadow of the Castle. It, too, is rude and 
homely with a little garden attached; and in this gar- 
den the Christian hero fell dead, pierced by a ball sent 
by one of the troopers. A tablet high up in the gable 
end records the sad story. When the hardened soldiers 
of the crown were ordered out in the evening exercise, 
they severed the head from the body of this devoted 
and faithful servant of the Lord, and played foot-ball 
with it on the village green. These brutalized soldiers 
understood not that they had sent one of God's ser- 
vants home to sing the song of Moses and the song 
of the Lamb. 

In the evening we took the train for Kilmarnock, a 
thriving city of some 40,000 on Irvine water in Ayr- 
shire, and registered at Veitch's Temperance Hotel on 
Portland Street. As the sun was yet high in the 
heavens, we took a run out to Kay Park, a lovely spot 
bounded on one side by the softly flowing Irvine water. 
A wooded hill ranges through the Park, and on its 



KILMARNOCK. I97 

highest terrace stands the Burns monument, a tasteful 
affair with rooms in it in which are relics and memo- 
ries of the national poet. Kilmarnock claims the 
honor of publishing his first book of poems, thus 
giving that encouragement his genius and his poverty- 
needed. The volume has recently been republished, 
and the poems as they issued from the pen of the 
plowman poet are in many respects different from the 
after issues. The grounds of the Park are ample. 
They are the gift of a townsman to whom the citizens 
gave the name of their Park. It is pure benevolence 
to the great army of toilers to provide such a sweet 
spot, where they can come as families or as as indi- 
viduals and drink bountiful drafts from the ocean of 
air. As well can they learn refinement from the 
delicate shades and perfumery of flowers and the glad 
trill of the birds in the great branches of the stately 
trees. The new city, in handsome modern dress, is 
encircling the Park and even extending far beyond it. 
At night we slept the sleep of a well spent day, and 
next morning we rolled back the weight of years to 
take in a sad but very interesting picture in the market 
cross. A ring in the pavement marks the spot where 
one of the Covenanters was beheaded, and he sleeps 
in Laigh Kirk yard. In the same yard is a monument 
to three others, prisoners taken at Bothwell Bridge, 
and who were sentenced to exile and perished at sea 
with a great many others. Ayrshire and the valley of 
Irvine water were early noted for being the home of 
an enlightened and pious peasantry. They took a 
vigorous part in the Reformation from Popery and 
made a firm and decided stand against the perfidy of 



I98 REMINISCENCES. 

the Stuarts. Laigh Kirk is very ancient. The clumsy 
old tower bears the date of 141 0. The inside is curious 
indeed, with high, jail-like windows and odd little 
patches of pews as if the hearers were graded. Seats 
for the choir of singers were in the center, and the 
books, purporting to be books of praise, were largely 
modern hymns of a most vapory quality, with nothing 
to nourish the soul and make it strong and buoyant. 
The glory is rapidly departing from this historic 
Church, and more martyrs will soon be needed. 
Wherever mere sentiment is fed and cultivated, the 
stronger qualities of the soul that take hold upon 
Truth because it is truth and resolve to hold it up be- 
cause it emanates from God, are weakened, and in the 
flight of years are crushed to the earth till some 
powerful upheaval of the social and religious life 
wakens it to a revived existence. But woe to those 
time-servers that yield it for a mess of pottage! 

The scene changed as we walked out to Dean 
Castle, the country-seat of the Earl of Kilmarnock 
who lost his head on Tower Hill, London, for taking 
part in the rebellion of Prince Charles Edward in 1745. 
It is now the property of Lord Portland, and a hand- 
some home it is. The original Castle is a cumbrous 
pile of stone, deserted but picturesque. By its side is 
a stately mansion in the midst of rare flowers and 
trees upon a lovely lawn, all exhibiting exquisite taste 
and keeping. A clear, sparkling stream of water, with 
a rustic bridge-way and a landscape of exceeding 
beauty forms the background. Our way led through 
the new city where were handsome homes with care- 
fully trained flowering plants. No home was so lowly 



A GOOD INFLUENCE. 199 

but that the inmates could intelligently tell the habits 
of the plants they cultivate, the food they require and 
their botanical name and class. Flowers have a refin- 
ing influence, and it was a pleasant surprise to us to 
see even in the lowly cots this evidence of gentility. 

During the persecutions of the Stuarts Ayrshire 
was a stronghold of the Covenanters. The ancient 
divisions of this Shire were Kyle, Cunningham and 
Carrick. To the old and fortress town of Carrick in 
Ireland many of these Covenanters fled during perse- 
cuting times, and with that strength of purpose that 
characterized them everywhere, clung to a pure faith, 
and 

" Planted on the Castle wall the Banner of the Blue, 
And worshiped God in simple form as Presbyterians do." 

This hallowed memory still lingers and can be seen 
and felt in the deportment of the people. In spite of 
whatever may be said against religious establishments 
there are facts that speak louder than theories. A 
savor still remains of the sowing time and consequent 
establishment of the religion of the Reformation. 
That savor was seen in those who sat at tables in the 
hotels. Very many of them bowed their heads in 
silent prayer before beginning the meal, and especially 
in this West country the Sabbath is still a delight, a 
quiet and honored day of rest. If the nation and 
people will serve the Lord with all their heart, he will 
give them laws and rulers after his own mind, in har- 
mony with a pure religion. Kings' hearts are in the 
hand of the Lord, and he turns them as the rivers of 
water are turned. It is God that gives Christian rulers 



200 REMINISCENCES. 

and laws running parallel with the divine law, which 
is neither more nor less than an established religion. 
Such should be our aim, our earnest desire, and diffi- 
culties would vanish, because it is the coming of the 
kingdom of Christ. 

The railway to the city of Ayr was through a 
blooming moorland. The heather lifted it,s head 
weighted with purple flowers and often crept close up 
to some evergreen shrub or feathery fir tree to enhance 
the beauty. Long mosses in different shades crawled 
along the surface and encircled knots of flowers with a 
soft, downy outline and a gracefulness most pleasing 
in effect. 

Our lodgings were at Cowan's Temperance Hotel, 
kept "by a handsome woman of good address. Tem- 
perance hotels outside of the larger cities are mostly 
kept by ladies and are certainly a success. The day 
was fine, and we took a carriage for the boyhood 
home of Robert Burns. The cottage is by the high- 
way; a low stone biggin of most humble appearance. 
No doubt the memory of this home suggested "The 
Cotter's Saturday Night." Burns' father was a godly 
man and was wont morning and evening to turn over 
"wi' patriarchal grace the big ha' Bible" and worship 
God with his family. The "big ha' Bible" is there, 
worn and brown with age, but the father and mother 
sleep in Alloway kirkyard. The quaint old fire-place 
is there and the cupboard and dresser and the bed- 
stead built into the wall, upon which baby Robert 
frolicked and prattled in his infancy. 

Everything indicates the humble and pious life 
of the parents at whose fireside the dreaming boy 



THE HOME OF BURNS. 201 

unconsciously caught the healthful precepts that 
gleamed at times like jewels, despite the waywardness 
that so often surprised and captured him. A short 
ride brought us to his monument in the midst of a 
carefully kept little park or garden of rare blooming 
plants, with avenues and borders of creeping plant 
life. It is washed by " Bonnie Doon," clear and 
sparkling as when the poet boy roved its banks and 
listened to the warblers that almost broke his tender 
heart. The monument contains a room of consider- 
able size with relics of the poet. The most thrilling is 
the Bible he gave to Highland Mary with her name, 
Mary Campbell, inscribed with his own hand. 

Quickly the mind turned to the "banks and braes 
and streams around the Castle of Montgomery," to 
sweet Afton water, where gently flowing, the Highland 
maiden stemmed its clear tide with her snowy feet, 
her native charms holding the youthful plow-boy in 
such loving bondage. It seems to be the almost 
universal verdict of Scotchmen that Burns was to a 
large extent governed by his surroundings. The poet 
was in him; so was his genial, social nature. He 
attracted men of letters and social position by his 
fruitful genius, and in such companionship the drink 
habits of the age fastened themselves upon him with 
a tyrant's grasp. His will power was feeble. The 
hero was not there. The greatest conqueror is he 
who conquers himself. The loss of Highland Mary 
by a sudden stroke of death plunged him into excesses 
that must always shadow his character; although it 
was at intervals during this very time that he gave to 
his countrymen and the world those mournful cadences 



202 REMINISCENCES. 

so replete with pathos and beauty that they seem the 
vibrations of his heart strings. 

"The auld brig over the Doon" and the new brig 
are almost side by side, quite near enough to be en- 
vious and ugly with each other. The moss grows 
upon the auld brig, and its high archway affords 
scanty room for crossing, but the new bridge is in 
modern dress, straight and ample in accommodations. 
However, it cannot boast a keystone to its arch. 
" Alloway's Auld Haunted Kirk" is but a stone's cast 
distant. The kirk is a roofless ruin. Built into its 
high gables are numerous tablets in memoriam, and 
the sleeper lies under the floor. The kirkyard is 
crowded with the dead, many of them titled, but none 
of them are so interesting as the family of Burns. 
Death is a mighty leveler. " Thou hast all seasons for 
thine own, O death!" Alloway Kirk stands upon a 
knoll beside the Doon. The place is lonely, and yet 
it is a pleasant loneliness; for the "banks and braes of 
bonnie Doon" are green and velvety and fringed with 
trees and shrubs, among which the birds twitter and 
speak their joy from many a leafy bower. 

We had a delightful ride back to the city, taking the 
highway that led past the late home of Mrs. Begg, 
the devoted sister of the poet. Ayr has handsome 
suburbs that are growing in the direction of the home 
of Burns. The undulations of hill and dale are very 
beautiful, as are the glimpses of the sea indenting the 
shore. The building material of the new and hand- 
some residences in the modern quarter is a cream gray 
stone that takes a beautiful polish and has a cheerful 
effect. There is a fine beach at Ayr, and many 



THE CITY ON THE SEA. 203 

bathers were in the surf. Throughout Scotland the 
ladies and gentlemen have different places for bathing. 
In no case are they permitted to mingle in bathing 
attire. 

The tired feelings vanished in a sound sleep, and in 
the morning we pursued our sight-seeing along the 
one long street of the old town, with its close and 
narrow alley ways, its projections and curious nooks 
and angles: the whole is venerable with years and 
gray with the dust and ashes of many generations. 
A Free Church edifice projects into the street of this 
ancient quarter and is a conspicuous object of interest. 
A clock upon this church performs an important duty 
to many of the inhabitants, being placed high up in 
the lofty steeple so as to be seen far and wide. A 
long walk brought us to a cross street which leads 
over the "auld brig of Ayr," spanning the river Ayr 
and leading to Newton-upon-Ayr. The bridge is 
constructed after the ancient pattern, rising high in the 
center with a narrow roadway, suggesting the old 
Roman idea of defense. At this point Ayr river is an 
arm of the sea, a harbor for vessels. It is along down 
from its home in the lofty Cairntable and through 
Wellwood's dark valley that Ayr, gurgling, kisses her 
pebbly shore. 

We were directed to St. John's church and its old 
graveyard where the martyrs lie. In 1650, when 
Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland, he took possession 
of Ayr and turned St. John's church and its graveyard 
into a fortification. When leaving the place, doubtless 
from motives of piety, he gave a large sum of money 
to the trustees to be used in renovating this church. 



204 REMINISCENCES. 

Within a few years it has been modernized inside, 
adorned with costly memorial windows and rich trap- 
pings that in the dim light awaken the feeling that we 
have suddenly been let into a cathedral of the six- 
teenth century. The outside walls of heavy masonry 
have many tablets and memorial stones. On one 
occasion the Scottish Parliament met within the walls 
of this church to confirm the title of Robert Bruce to 
the throne of Scotland. The dead lie around and 
about in packed masses, heaps upon heaps, generation 
after generation of those who lived and toiled and 
filled out their destiny and then lay down to sleep in 
the kindly earth till the waking time shall come. 
Seven of these were martyrs of the Covenant: James 
Smith, Alex. McMillan, James McMillan, John Short, 
George McKertny, John Graham and John Muirhead. 
They were taken prisoners at Pentland, were executed 
at the market cross and lie side by side. On a 
suitable monument is inscribed the story of their 
sufferings and death. It is a quiet nook where these 
martyrs lie. Little is heard of the din of the city, but 
the melody of the gentle river, the classic Ayr, brings 
a hush and a thrill that is grateful and soothing. Ayr 
proper lies on the south bank of the river and is con- 
nected with Newton-upon-Ayr by the"Twa Brigs" 
of Burns. When Cromwell held the city, St. John's 
church and grounds included the citadel and from ten 
to twelve acres of ground. All the ground is now 
covered with houses except the burial place attached 
to the church. The citadel stands near the sea. It is 
a high, strong-looking building, a relic of the past and 
preserved as such. 






MAUCHLINE. 205 

We left the town of "cakes and bonnie lassies" re- 
gretfully, because there were many foot-prints in the 
vicinity of special interest. We halted at Mauchline, 
famous now for its extensive quarries of red sandstone 
that admits a fine polish and is used in many regions 
for building purposes, trimmings, &c. The contrast, 
when used with the cream-colored stone of Ayr and 
other places, is very pleasing. Mauchline is a quaint 
old town on the Ayrshire railway line to Dumfries. It 
is jotted down in its place with the prevailing idea of 
defense. A struggle for life is written on its unadorned 
exterior. It has, however, a new and thriving part, 
and handsome suburbs. The dwellings of stone in the 
old part are rude structures. No artist hand shaped 
the stones or ranged them for effect. These houses 
stand in line and out of line, just as the builders 
thought would be safest for "wife and weans" when 
fierce marauders came. Even Mauchline Castle is of 
undressed stone without unnecessary ornament. This 
Castle has thick, heavy walls, a battlement and a nar- 
row, circular stairway as an escape. In one of its rooms 
Robert Burns and Jean Armour were married, the 
then proprietor being a warm friend and admirer of 
the poet. Mossgiel is about one mile away. The 
unfortunate Burns plowed and sowed the fields of 
Mossgiel; but his thoughts were more upon the "wee 
mousie" he disturbed than the thrift the plow would 
bring, and more enraptured with the birds and flowers 
and pebbly streams than the grain he scattered. The 
house of Sonsie Nancie, where Burns wrote "The 
Jolly Beggars," is standing and looks suspicious, as if 
it still had a glass too much. The low warped build- 



206 REMINISCENCES. 

ing has a forbidding aspect, as if conscious of guilt in 
the ruin it had wrought. It is still a place of ruin, and 
lures the drinking victims by its blazoned sign, "Sonsie 
Nancie." But what singled out Mauchline as a place 
of interest to us was the ashes of her martyrs. Some 
lie in the churchyard, and five sleep upon the village 
green. A monument with a suitable inscription marks 
where they lie, and a tablet in the stone wall tells 
where these Christian soldiers fell. Their names are 
Peter Gillies, John Bryce, Thomas Young, William 
Fiddison, and John Bruning. They were executed 
upon one gibbet in 1685. They were hurried to exe- 
cution without trial and were not allowed time for 
prayer or a parting word with the dear ones left 
behind. After the execution a hole was dug in the 
place where the monument now stands, and they were 
all thrown in together like brutes. These were dark 
and dismal days, days that tried men's souls. To the 
unbeliever not one ray of hope streamed from the 
horizon; but the children of God knew it was the 
darkness before the dawn. They saw it by faith, and 
so they triumphantly yielded their lives that the king- 
dom of grace might be advanced. Their sufferings 
are fresh in the hearts of their countrymen, and 

" Their names, their memories, their renown 
Shall pass to latest ages down." 

The name Mauchline is of Gaelic origin, meaning 
"a place of water springs." It is at least twelve hun- 
dred years old, a battle having been fought here in 
681 between the Strathclyde Britons and the Irish 
Scots. In 1 1 56 the monks of Melrose erected a house 



HUMBLE WORSHIP. 207 

of worship. After the Reformation began George 
Wishart came to preach. A party refused him the 
church, and he replied, "Christ is as potent in the 
fields as in the kirk," and withdrew to an open moor 
near by and preached for nearly three hours with 
wonderful power to a great multitude. Reformations 
do not usually begin in fine church buildings or among 
fashionable worshipers. The Jews were reclaimed 
from idolatry by being deprived of their beautiful 
temple and left to worship God by the rivers of 
Babylon where they hanged their temple harps upon 
the willows, or to kneel before the windows that were 
opened toward Jerusalem. The apostles went every- 
where preaching the gospel without regard to the 
convenience of church buildings. The greatest refor- 
mations in ancient or modern times began and pro- 
gressed under privation. 



208 REMINISCENCES. 



XL 

The rain was sifting down upon the broad land- 
scape when we reached Cumnock upon Lugar Water, 
and we quickly sought a lodging place. We found 
one in a quiet home and soon forgot our wayfaring in 
the warmth of a cheerful room and a cup of hot tea. 
Next morning the rain clouds withheld their burden, 
but rolled and tossed onward in heavy, threatening 
masses, reminding us of the dark days of the Covenant 
when it was death to be true. It was no marvel that 
our reflections were quickened by the surroundings, 
and that the stirring scenes enacted there two hun- 
dred years ago became almost a reality. 

Cumnock is quite elevated, commanding an exten- 
sive scope of country. A range of green hills and 
gentle slopes can be distinctly seen from this place. 
Among these hills the Nith has its source, and upon 
one of the crowns is a deep moss hag overhung with 
tall heather. The spot is called Crossgellioch and 
tells a pathetic story. In 1685, four humble followers 
of our Lord were returning home, after having been 
to hear Rev. James Renwick preach. They were very 
tired with travel, and wishing to avoid the highways, 
they lay down in this dark and dank place. Ere long 
Colonel Douglass who, doubtless, had hounded them 



THE TRUE HEROES. 209 

with a band of soldiers, came upon them suddenly and 
shot three of them instantly, while the fourth made 
good his escape. The country people stealthily buried 
them where they fell among the mosses and heather. 
After the Revolution Settlement in 1688, a plain stone 
was erected to mark the spot where Joseph Wilson, 
John Jamieson and John Humphfrey lie. Says Mr. 
Todd in " Homes, Haunts and Battlefields of the 
Covenanters," "When the foundation of the monu- 
ment was being dug in 1827, a very wonderful dis- 
covery was made. The bodies of the three martyrs 
were come upon lying side by side, only a little way 
beneath the surface in their hosen and their plaids, 
fresh and undecayed and looking as if they had only 
been buried yesterday, so that their very features 
could be plainly seen, as they lay there in their mossy 
bed in all the indescribable placidity of death." The 
antiseptic properties of the peat moss in which they 
lay had no doubt embalmed their bodies. 

In a quiet graveyard in Cumnock repose the ashes 
of Alexander Peden — "Peden the Prophet," as he is 
still called by the peasantry, the devoted friend of 
Richard Cameron and the Covenanted Reformation. 
He was hunted upon mountain and upon moor, among 
the wilds of Ayrshire, Galloway and Avondale by 
those who thirsted for his blood, but he was not 
captured. His escapes were wonderful. Often a flying 
mist upon some lonely moor or heathy hillside con- 
cealed this servant of the Lord till the danger passed. 
Five weary years he spent as a prisoner in the dismal 
fortress on the Bass Rock. His last place of conceal- 
ment was in a cave near this place. This cave looks 
14 



2IO REMINISCENCES. 

out upon the Lugar near its junction with Ayr water. 
The entrance to it is very narrow and quite concealed 
among the overhanging cliffs. Here he evaded his 
pursuers and often preached at conventicles; but 
exposure and trials brought on his last sickness, and 
he was buried in Auchinleck churchyard, two miles 
from this place. Six weeks after his interment a body 
of brutal soldiers were sent to this place to tear out 
his wasted body. They broke open the coffin, tore 
off the winding sheet and left all exposed to wind and 
storm for a few days. Then, as if in a rage at being 
cheated by death out of the pleasure of hanging him, 
they buried him at the foot of the gallows in Cum- 
nock. The hideous old gallows has passed away, and 
there the Christian hero sleeps beneath a broad stone 
that records his virtues. Soon after the interment, 
two hawthorn trees sprang up, one on each side of the 
flat stone, and their branches now lovingly entwine 
above his resting place and seem at a distance to be 
one tree top. As we stood by his grave we could but 
contrast the present with that time when the dens and 
caves of earth were the homes of them " of whom the 
world was not worthy." 

As the morning waned toward noontide, the heavens 
looked kindlier and gave us patches of blue sky 
amidst the feathery fields of mist, sometimes gray and 
dark and again white as the driven snow. It was 
Saturday, and the outside world grew more and more 
propitious, when our friend, Mr. Todd, called in a 
wagonette to conduct us to Airsmoss. We were 
whirled rapidly over the smooth road through the 
invigorating air now becoming a pure rosy amber 



ON THE WAY. 2 1 1 

after the rain. With historic memories all the way of 
such a thrilling nature I sometimes felt that I dreamed, 
and that the delight would vanish as dreams do, 
leaving only a pleasant savor. The way at times lay 
over hills and beneath frowning cliffs, between sloping 
points and over rippling rills. Again it ran by the 
side of soft green pasture fields shadowed with great 
patriarchal trees, a refuge for the cattle and sheep that 
grazed contentedly upon the swelling undulations. As 
we advanced, the landscape was cast in a rougher, 
shaggier mould, giving us at intervals silvery streams 
that murmured their songs all the days and all the 
nights. One wild and lonely place, dark with over- 
hanging bush and shrub, was marked as the spot 
where a body of English troopers were surprised by a 
band of hastily gathered Covenanters and completely 
routed. The troopers were conducting a number of 
prisoners to Edinburgh. They were the friends and 
neighbors of these Covenanters, and among their 
number one of their ministers whom they had tied 
fast to the horse he rode. The minister and all the 
prisoners were rescued. But during the skirmishing 
and fighting the minister was utterly helpless to defend 
himself, and consequently was so injured that he died 
shortly after. It cannot be that these godly men 
struggled in vain. Not one pang of all their suffer- 
ings for Christ's sake is forgotten by him. He knew 
just when they were born into the kingdom. He had 
appointed every step of their way and has all their 
testimony in his keeping yet. The fashion of this 
world passes away. It is as empty as sounding brass, 
but the word of the Lord abides forever, and its 



2 I 2 REMINISCENCES. 

fashion never changes. Its watchword is, "The Lord 
my Banner." 

As we journeyed we came in sight of long ranges 
of hills sketched upon the horizon. To the east 
among these hills rises Glenmuir water, which flows 
south through a sequestered glen. Among the North- 
ern slopes Ayr water has her home where, gurgling, 
she kisses her pebbly shore till lost in the harbor at 
Ayr. Here, too, is "Wellwood's sweet valley." The 
lofty Cairntable is in view and many a rocky glen and 
fastness. These hidings not only sheltered the fleeing 
Covenanters, but formed for them nature's bulwark 
where great numbers of them met by stealth to hear 
the Word at the mouth of God's faithful servants. 
These meetings were called conventicles and were 
most precious to the hunted fugutives. 

Just beyond the classic Ayr lies the moorland farm 
where John Brown of Priesthill was shot by Claver- 
house at his own door in the presence of his wife and 
children, his only offense being that he served God 
too faithfully for the minions of Charles II. We had 
scarcely time to get the bearings of these interesting 
places whea we entered upon a wide stretch of dreaiy 
moorland. Neither trees nor shrubs were to be seen, 
but instead were hundreds of acres of the most luxu- 
riant heather in all its wealth of delicate purple flowers. 
The long, feathery branches lifted themselves out of 
their home of most exquisite mosses, attracting a 
great army of bees that hummed incessantly "around 
the breathing flowers." These mosses are of many 
colors and send up long, downy shoots, often six 
inches long. Within the compass of a few feet there 



AIRSMOSS. 213 

were the most brilliant shades of crimson and pink, 
as well as many varieties of green and orange. The 
sun, the shade and the wet, spongy soil are the influ- 
ences at work to produce this diversity of color. 

The place where Richard Cameron and his com- 
rades fought and fell is a green knoll rising gently out 
of the waste of swamp and heather, the swamp full of 
moss hags and the knoll almost inaccessible even on 
foot in the driest summer, Cameron and eight of his 
devoted followers quietly sleep where they fell, and a 
monument marks the spot. Feelings of the deepest 
emotion came and went, as we plucked the gowans 
that grew in luxuriance over the ashes of the dead. 
The "wee, modest, crimson-tipped flowers" seemed to 
rejoice as they lifted their heads ** upon the lone and 
wild Airsmoss," where reposes the dust of God's pre- 
cious ones. 

Our friend read "The Cameronian's Dream" stand- 
ing beside the monument. His voice was rich and 
full, and as the sounds floated away the scene described 
came vividly to mind, thrilling us with intense emo- 
tion. The desolate moor almost encircled us and 
stretched far and wide, only relieved by the swaying 
heather, an ocean of purple gently waving in the 
breeze. The eventful morning was pictured in vivid 
coloring. There was the little army of Covenanters, 
foot and horse, drawn up in battle array where we 
stood. Toil-worn and wasted with hunger, they were 
compelled to give way before twice their number 
under the command of a violent persecutor, Bruce of 
Earshall. The fleeing footmen find a refuge among 
the moss hags, the dead and dying lie upon the grassy 



214 REMINISCENCES. 

knoll. Of the nine whose lives are ebbing fast, one is 
Rev. Richard Cameron, the man of God. He en- 
gaged in prayer just before the battle, using these 
words three times, " Lord, spare the green and take 
the ripe." He had a firm conviction that he should 
die that day. When he washed his hands and face in 
the early morning, he spread his hands on his face and 
said, "This is their last washing. I have need to 
make them clean; for there are many to see them." 
As the enemy approached, he said to his brother, 
" Come, let us fight it to the last. This is the day I 
have longed for and the death I have prayed for — to 
die fighting against our Lord's enemies. This is the 
day we will get the crown." 

The head and hands of this Christian her were cut 
off and, with shocking barbarity, presented to his 
father, a prisoner in the Tolbooth in Edinburgh, with 
the inquiry if he knew them. The old man kissed 
them and said, "They are my own dear son's. Good 
is the will of the Lord." These bloody relics were 
fixed on the Netherbow Port, the hands in the attitude 
of prayer. Said one of these gross persecutors, "There 
are the head and hands that lived praying and preach- 
ing and died praying and fighting." The headless 
body rests with his brethren beneath the sod, where 
we are listening to the beautiful lines of James Hyslop, 
beginning with these words: 

" In a dream of the night I was wafted away 
To the muirland of mist, where the martyrs lay, 
Where Cameron's sword and his Bible are seen 
Engraved on the stone where the heather grows green." 

The home of young Hyslop, the author, was in 



monteith's cave. 215 

sight of where we stood. It was a fine subject for a 
youth of poetic temperament. The grandeur of the 
scene and the sublimity of the event were the food 
upon which the youthful poet fed. Sleep on till the 
resurrection morn, ye who are dear in God's sight — ye 
ransomed ones who stand before the great White 
Throne! It is fit ye should sleep here! We turned 
homeward with chastened feelings and with a fuller 
realization of the word of Truth, " In the world ye 
shall have tribulation." 

The sun shone and the birds sang to us as we 
found our way back. Glenmuir water regaled us on 
one side and Bello water sang us a song on the other. 
The two mountain streams unite and form the musical 
Lugar. At the junction there is a celebrated cave 
where Monteith, the original discoverer of the mode 
of manufacturing illuminating gas, spent his leisure 
time experimenting till he perfected his invention. All 
the way was martyr-land. Here they were driven 
from their homes, and there they were shot, as beside 
the rippling streams they sang the songs of Zion. 
The rest of this ever to be remembered day was .spent 
at Breezy Hill Cottage with our ardent friend of the 
Covenanters, whose pen pictures in " Homes, Haunts 
and Battlefields of the Covenanters" are vivid and 
inspiriting. The next day was Sabbath and we wor- 
shiped in Auchinleck two miles away, with the 
Original Secession congregation, of which Professor 
Spence is pastor, and who gave us two excellent 
sermons. 

It seemed like a romance that we should be traver- 
sing the very nooks and shelter spots made almost 



2l6 REMINISCENCES. 

sacred by the faithful contendings of that shining 
cloud of witnesses that still brightens the land. 
There is nothing so illuminating as faithful contend- 
ings. It is true that it hardly ever produces an 
immediate effect. Neither of two parties ever admits 
at once that the party maintaining steadfastly the 
truth has brought conviction to the other, because 
that would be humiliating to human nature, an ac- 
knowledgment of defeat that the old man of sin 
within us finds hard to make. But the seeds of con- 
viction are planted, nevertheless, and sooner or later 
they will ripen, and their possessors will come forward 
emancipated. The first question with us should 
always be, Does the principle under discussion agree 
with the will of God as given to us in his word? It 
should never involve questions of self-interest or mere 
time-serving; for they all fade as do the falling leaf, 
while the years of the truth are eternal. 

Monday morning dawned bright and cheerful, a 
foretaste of the pleasant hours we spent in the home 
of Professor Spence in Auchinleck. In the old grave- 
yard, now handsomely kept, is Peden's tree planted on 
the spot where the old tree flourished for many years, 
and was regarded with affection as a silent witness of 
the desecration of Peden's resting place. A handsome 
church building adorns the center of this churchyard, 
and it is further interesting as the place of sepulture 
for the Lords of Auchinleck for generations. We 
walked back, taking in leisurely a fine view of swelling 
hills and cultivated farms, a picture of peace and 
thrift, bringing to mind the blessing that has flowed 
from the dark days " when the minister's home was on 



AFTON WATER. 217 

mountain and moor." Such sowing in sorrow brings 
back the sheaves with rejoicing. 

We visited by invitation the handsome pleasure 
grounds of the Crichton family, which was a bewilder- 
ing mass of rare flowering plants and curious tropics 
in leaf and spiral, as well as a fine specimen of grape 
culture as it is done in Scotland. The vines were all 
under glass cover, nothing but the roots being outside. 
Clusters of the most luscious grapes and the largest 
we had ever seen hung from the vines. Like the 
clusters of Eshcol, in order to be transported a branch 
with one cluster would have to be borne between two 
upon a staff. In the afternoon we took the train for 
Dumfries, escorted to the depot by our warm-hearted 
and genial poet friend, Mr. Todd. Our farewells were 
made with kindly wishes, and our hearts were aglow 
with memories of the covenanting days to be met on 
our way. 

The District of Galloway, including the shires of 
Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and Wigtown, suffered more 
severely than any other place during the persecution 
that followed the restoration of the Stuarts. No dis- 
trict is richer in memories of the Covenant. The var- 
iety of scenery was a constant delight as we whirled 
along. The deep woodlands, the overhanging cliffs 
and the dark glens lent a pathos to the scene; for they 
once echoed the tramp, tramp of bloodthirsty dragoons, 
searching for the life of those of whom the world was 
not worthy. Along the lovely banks and hills of 
"sweet Afton water," far marked in their course by 
many clear, winding rills, there were solitary moorland 
tracts during the perilous days of which we write that 



2 1 8 REMINISCENCES. 

were uninhabited and only visited by fugitives. In 
the wilds of this district of Galloway the youthful and 
gentle James Renwick, the last martyr for civil and 
religious liberty, spent many days, preaching often on 
the lonely moors and desert mountains and in remote 
and lowly cottages. Sometimes he was attended by 
few, and again by great multitudes. Sweet and most 
precious were these seasons of refreshment which, like 
a dew from the Lord, fell upon the hearts of those 
who met by the wells of salvation flowing in the 
wilderness. 

It is told of James Renwick that once, when preach- 
ing at a conventicle in a wild and sequestered place 
in Galloway, a party of troopers came in sight. Ren- 
wick fled and took refuge in an inn in Newton-Stewart 
and immediately went to his room. The troopers, 
cheated of their prey, hunted him till night, and then 
found refuge in the same inn. After they had supped, 
the officer of the party asked the host if there was 
not some intelligent person in the house with whom 
they could beguile the moments till bed-time. The 
host applied to Mr. Renwick, not suspecting who he 
was. Mr. Renwick came and made a deep impression 
upon his auditors. Long before daylight next morn- 
ing, Mr. Renwick arose, made himself known to his 
host and sought refuge among the solitudes of the 
mountain steeps. In the morning the officer again 
called for the gentlemanly stranger who had pleased 
him so much, and was told who he was. Said the 
officer, "If he is James Renwick, so harmless, so dis- 
creet, and so well-informed, I, for one, will pursue him 
no longer." 






A TURNING POINT. 219 

We passed through the important borough of San- 
quhar, the scene of stirring events. It is situated upon 
the Nith and has its ruined castle, once the home of 
the Lords of Sanquhar, and dating its existence from 
the ninth century. Sanquhar is best known from its 
connection with the Covenanting struggle. We are 
told that the solitary places around this place are 
many and deep, and thither the Covenanters were 
wont to speed for hiding places. It was literally the 
Church in the wilderness, from which she came forth 
tried like gold in a furnace of fire. The Sanquhar 
Declaration of 1680 has immortalized this place. It 
was prepared by Richard Cameron and was the pivotal 
test of that trying time. This Declaration declared 
fealty to God as alone Lord of the conscience and 
made the perfidious Charles II. tremble on his throne. 
Richard Cameron, his brother and about eighteen 
others rode into Sanquhar, dismounted, formed a 
circle, and sang one of the songs of Zion and, after 
fervent prayer, fixed a copy of the Declaration to the 
market-cross. This noble stand for truth shook the 
tyrant James II. from his throne forever. The town 
has a very ancient look, as if heavy with years, but its 
history is full of interest. Kirkconnell has a martyr 
history. On the moor near by five Covenanters were 
shot by Sir Robert Grierson of Lagg, who scoured all 
the district of Galloway with fire and sword. 



220 REMINISCENCES. 



XII. 

The evening was far spent and night was enfolding 
the landscape when we arrived at the city of Dum- 
fries. We found a comfortable home in a temperance 
hotel on English Street and waited for the morning. 

Dumfries is called the Queen of the South. It is 
situated in the Vale of the Nith, with gentle acclivities 
and bold elevations bounding it on every side. The 
golden-hued waters of the Nith sweep along its 
western border, and the bold brow of CrifTel stands 
sentinel over its green banks and watches its majestic 
march to the sea. Dumfries is thought to be as old 
as the Roman invasion. It was raised to the dignity 
of a royal borough in 1 190, and the old part is not a 
modern mushroom place, but gray and venerable and 
picturesque and storied. The name in earlier times 
was Drumfres, a Gaelic word meaning a Castle in the 
Brushwood. It was included in the ancient and ex- 
tended province of Galloway. 

In the early period of the Scottish monarchy, 
Galloway was independent of both the Scottish and 
Pictish kings. They were a distinct people governed 
by their own laws. In ancient chronicles the warriors 
of Galloway are described as strong, fleet of foot, 
remarkably bold and very expert in aiming their 






CIVILIZED. 221 

javelins. Their habits, as of all the peoples of 
Scotland at that age, were very similar to the habits 
of our own American Indians. The men of Galloway 
not only watched and held the English borderer at 
bay, but they furbished their swords to meet the 
Highlanders in battle array. The deadly feuds, so rife 
in those days, are now almost lost in oblivion. And 
how was the marvelous change wrought? Not by 
fighting, but by interchange of the civilities of Chris- 
tian life. Thomas de Galloway, married Isabel, 
daughter of the Earl of Athole, a powerful Scottish 
nobleman of the royal line, and Alan, the Lady 
Isabel's brother, heir to the lordship of Galloway, 
married a daughter of the Earl of Huntingdon, a 
proud English nobleman; and thus gradually during 
the flight of years their mutual wrath was transformed 
into the happy cement that now binds all parties. 
The bit of wonderful history revealed in dates and 
records of the Scottish tribes lends a strong coloring 
to the hopes for the future of the North American 
Indian. When the light of Christianity dawns, the 
darkness of Paganism takes flight. 

The morning of August 31 dawned with threatening 
clouds overhead. Great Criffel put on his night-cap 
and went asleep in our very presence. But the rain 
only fell in sprinkles, and from the heights of Max- 
welltown we viewed the beautiful vale of the clear 
winding Nith, with its banks and braes, its fertile fields 
and refreshing groves of trees. The historic town 
was spread out beneath us and beyond the river. We 
crossed the river on the old bridge erected in 1280 by 
Devorgilla, granddaughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway 



222 REMINISCENCES. 

and sole heiress to her grandfather's estates and titles. 
This lady Devorgilla was the grandmother of John 
Comyn, Earl of Badenoch, whom Robert Bruce, Earl 
of Carrick and Lord of Annandale, slew at the port 
of the vennel which we enter at this old bridge. 

They were competitors for the Scottish crown which 
was at this time usurped by Edward I. of England. 
The two proud barons met on this dreadful day in 
apparent friendship; but on the way to the monastery 
for worship the claims of the rivals were discussed, 
and Bruce in a towering passion accused Comyn of 
basely betraying the liberties of Scotland to Edward, 
the haughty tyrant. "You lie!" was the response of 
Comyn, when Bruce, heedless of consequences, 
plunged his dagger into the heart of his rival. The 
retainers of both parties flew to arms, and before the 
sun went down the English garrison was driven out 
and the free standard of Bruce was floating from the 
turrets of the Castle. Thus the first step toward 
Scotland's deliverance from English bondage was 
taken. It was the dim prelude to brilliant Bannock- 
burn. 

The Port of the vennel is still there, and as we 
turned into Greyfriar's Street, the suggestive placard, 
"Comyn's Court," attracted our attention. It is a 
small court, perhaps twelve feet square, enclosed 
within dingy walls falling to decay, only famous now 
because here John Comyn fell, and the liberty of 
Scotland had its birth. An extensive monastery once 
covered much of this ground and included this court. 
The monastery is gone. Gone too, is the Castle of 
Dumfries, though large and substantial in the early 



DUMFRIES. 223 

period of its history. The streets here are very nar- 
row and crooked, mere alley-ways, and the houses are 
high and compact. 

The newer part of the city gives it the right to be 
designated the Queen of the South. Buccleuch Street 
is wide and spacious, with handsome residences. All 
the streets of the modern part are wide and clean and 
lined with beautiful and substantial homes. High 
Street hums with business and is thronged with mer- 
chandise. 

The handsome statue of Robert Burns is on this 
street. It rests upon a pedestal six feet high. The 
design is very suggestive of what Burns was. He is 
leaning against the trunk of a tree with his right hand 
on his heart, his left hand holding a bunch of "the 
wee, modest, crimson tippet flower," which he seems 
about to address. His bonnet lies at his feet beside 
his dog Luath, and close to these are two "weesleekit, 
cowran, timorous beasties" and "the big ha' Bible." 
On each paneled side is an inscription selected from 
the beauties of his pen. Mrs. Hill of Edinburgh fur- 
nished the model for this fine piece of art. In another 
part of the city, in St. Michael's churchyard, he sleeps 
"after life's fitful fever," and a handsome mausoleum 
marks the spot. 

The churchyard is an interesting city of the dead. 
It has been used as a burial place for more than seven 
hundred years and contains nearly four thousand 
monuments. Its most interesting spot, however, is 
where three martyred Covenanters sleep their last 
sleep. They were brothers of a true, heroic band who 
struggled for freedom of conscience and by their 



224 REMINISCENCES. 

death secured the prize for us. Being dead, they yet 
speak, and we should cherish their memory and imi- 
tate their virtues. Their names are William Grierson, 
William Welsh and James Kirk. Their graves are 
marked by three venerable and wasted tombstones, 
and above these lowly stones is a handsome monu- 
ment of granite erected in 1834 to perpetuate the 
memory of the noble army of Nithsdale martyrs. 
Our sight-seeing was greatly facilitated by the kind- 
ness of an excellent family, who spared no pains to 
add to our pleasure and profit. The father of this 
family, Mr. John McClure, who added so much to our 
enjoyment, has recently been gathered home and 
sleeps in St. Michael's kirkyard. 

We reserved a few hours for a walk along the Max- 
welltown side of the golden Nith and at the edge of 
fat pastures, to visit the ruins of Lincluden Abbey. It 
is situated upon Cluden W r ater near where the river 
widens into a linn or pool of water; hence its musical 
name. It was erected about 1 150 by one of the Lords 
of Galloway and remained a convent for two hundred 
yoars. It was then enlarged and converted into a 
collegiate church for the powerful family of Douglass. 
At this period Douglass had succeeded to the rights 
and titles of the Lords of Galloway. The present 
picturesque and beautiful ruin on the Cluden, a tribu- 
tary of the Nith, combines three styles of architecture 
— the Gothic, the Norman and the Scotch Baronial. 
The lawn belonging to the Abbey is square and still 
clearly defined. It is well kept, smooth and soft as a 
carpet and is bounded on one side by the swift waters 
of the Cluden. Much of the ornamentation of the 



A RURAL DRIVE. 225 

Abbey remains. The roof has fallen in; yet enough 
is left to testify to the power and influence of 
Douglass. There are many tombs inside, as well as 
stone coffins lying in the ante-rooms. The most elab- 
orate tomb is that of Margaret, the daughter of Robert 
III. of Scotland, Countess of Douglass and Lady of 
Galloway and Annandale. The tomb is built into the 
wall in the form of an arch, handsomely carved in 
stone, with nine shields emblazoned with arms cut 
upon the front of this elaborate tomb. All the honors 
of the house of Douglass have fled. Its vanity re- 
mains as a beacon light so distinct "that he may 
run that readeth it." 

The afternoon of August 31, we took in the environs 
of the Queen of the South. Hill and dale, city and 
country seem linked in kindly fellowship and their 
history is inseperable. Our drive was over a most 
beautiful undulating landscape with clear, pebbly 
streams of water, interspersed with farm and farm- 
house, and over all a halo of peace and plenty. Our 
first pause w r as at Irongrey church, ivy-clad and gray 
with age, situated on a knoll in the midst of many 
graves marked by modest stones, old and moss-grown. 
Here sleeps Helen Walker, the heroine of real life 
whom Sir Walter Scott made famous as Effie Deans. 
Sir Walter erected a table tombstone over her grave, 
with a lengthy inscription, closing with the following: 
" Respect the grave of poverty when combined with 
love of truth and dear affection." 

Not far from this are to be seen the celebrated 
Communion Stones of Irongrey. They are situated 
in a sequestered hollow among the hills and remain 
15 



226 REMINISCENCES. 

as they were when the persecuted Covenanters were 
wont to assemble from the face of their enemies to 
meet their pastors, who had to steal forth out of the 
dens and caves to administer to the people the precious 
memorials of the love of the Saviour. The Communion 
Stones of Irongrey consist of tables and seats cut out 
of the solid rock. As we journeyed further, we haked 
to visit a grassy hillside in a lonely place shaded with 
fine old trees, where sleep two martyrs of the Cove- 
nant, Edward Gordon and Alexander McCubbin. 
Four of their companions were shot at sight like 
beasts of prey, but these two were pursued to this 
spot and hanged. A small monument over their 
graves has this inscription: "Hanged without law by 
Lagg and Captain Bruce for adhering to the word of 
God, in 1685." Sir Robert Grierson of Lagg, one of 
the perpetrators of this foul deed, sleeps quite near 
the spot in an obscure country graveyard, enclosed in 
a high stone wall, much neglected, dreary and forbid- 
ding as the acts of the persecutor. We turned from 
it with a feeling of relief. 

A short ride brought us to Ellisland, the home to 
which Burns brought Jean Armour. It is a poet's 
home beside a murmuring rivulet, with grassy, wooded 
banks and wildwood flowers. It has fine fields and 
beautiful clover nooks; but something else than the 
thrift of farm life sang in the brain of Burns. 

■' For him the plowing of those fields 
A more ethereal harvest yields 
Than sheaves of grain." 

The humble house remains as it was when Burns 



ELLISLAND. 22"J 

occupied it. Ellisland, the home of the poet for a 
term of years, is about four miles from Dumfries. 
Here he wrote "Tarn O'Shanter," "The Lament, of 
Mary, Queen of Scots" and "To Mary in Heaven." 
The last was composed when he was tormented with 
poverty and disappointment. It is told of him that he 
lay down on his back in one of his fields at night, 
with his face gazing at the stars, till the beautiful lines 
were complete in his mind, and then he came into the 
house and penned them. Had Burns lived now, he 
could not have written " To Mary in Heaven." His 
debts would not have troubled him in these halcyon 
days. The house is a low fabric of three rooms beside 
the Nith. It is built of rubble stone, and much of the 
work of building was performed by himself. From 
the highway there is a long lane between hawthorn 
hedgerows leading to the house, and the banks of the 
hedges are alive with the daisies Burns loved so ar- 
dently. The house and surroundings are quite rustic. 
He died at the age of thirty seven in a humble house 
of three rooms on an obscure street in Dumfries. 

An object of deep interest was a rugged, lofty hill, 
to which tradition points as the spot where some of 
the Nithsdale Covenanters were pinioned and rolled 
down over the rocky surface to be torn to fragments 
ere they reached the base. Over many places in this 
vicinity Sir Walter Scott has thrown the luster of his 
genius. The last earthly resting place of Robert Pat- 
terson, the "Old Mortality" of Sir Walter, is in 
Bankend churchyard. A modest stone marks the 
spot on which is engraved a mallet and chisel. Near 
by is a loch where steam was successfully applied to 



228 REMINISCENCES. 

navigation, though the invention is said to have been 
stolen from the inventor, as has often been done. On 
our way we met many wild and lonely strongholds. 
There were caverns and chasms and loud rushing 
streams of water that furnished a hiding place for the 
persecuted ones. 

A curious place for the antiquary was an irregular 
circle of Druidical stones, twelve in number, probably 
a mystic number, the diameter of the circle being 
perhaps two hundred feet. The stones were heavy, 
undressed and standing upright. The historic village 
of Closeburn and Drumlanrig Castle, one of the resi- 
dences of the Duke of Buccleuch, were objects of 
interest on our way back. The shadows of night 
were gathering when we arrived in the city and the 
evening passed in delightful conversation, refreshed as 
we were by the most fragrant tea and the most deli- 
cious mutton and accompaniments. We added our 
testimony to that of many others that Galloway 
mutton maintained its integrity still. 



THROUGH GALLOWAY. 229 



XIII. 

Early next morning we bade adieu to the Southern 
Queen, to its closes and its wynds, to its old memo- 
ries, to its precious martyr-dust by the wimpling Nith 
and on her guardian hillsides. 

•* In mony a border battle ye bore a double share ; 
In mony a feudal foray ye suffered sad and sair. 

The morning was cool. Our destination was 
Wigtown, and our way lay through Galloway, the 
Lords of which, in early times were petty sovereigns. 
In the "killing time" in all the region through which 
we were to pass, the sons of the Covenant were nume- 
rous and devoted and consequently, much exposed to 
the brutal treatment of Sir Robert Grierson of Lagg 
and Sir John Graham of Claverhouse. On many a 
moorland path on our journey where the sunlight now 
sleeps peacefully, the fleeing Covenanters once sped 
like the panting hart, and among the rocks and crags 
now gray with the hoar of time and lifting their 
points from patches of golden and brown mosses and 
lichens, they found a hiding place, often creeping 
stealthily among these native fortresses. 

The glens and hillsides were in a tearful mood this 
morning, and the mists were curling in wreaths and 
festoons from the streams and valleys. The scenery 



230 REMINISCENCES. 

is very fine and has been called the Southern Tros- 
sachs. John Bright, the distinguished statesman, once 
visited Galloway and exclaimed: 

" Land of the mountain strath and stream I 
Is it reality, or but a dream ? " 

It was to us a dreaming time strangely real and pa- 
thetic. In the days of peril many of the Covenanters 
of Galloway spent their time in these dark and dismal 
caves and dreary forest glades beside the torrents and 
their rocky ramparts to worship the God of their 
fathers. Very many of them sleep on these solitary 
moors, where the sighing winds and the soft murmur 
of the mountain streams sing their requiem. 

It was autumn now, and the season was exhibiting 
her bounties. The harvest rigs shed a golden gleam, 
and the tints so charming in the death of the leaf and 
plant greeted us at every turn. Americans, with their 
generous acres of bounteous prairie land, would no 
doubt wonder how such a land as this could support 
its people. There are indeed difficulties in this line; 
but the Scotch are an economical people; they are in 
every walk of life a thrifty people who will compel 
ends to meet. Difficulties are friends in disguise. 
Many persons regard it a duty to struggle with diffi- 
culties and conquer them; but there are few who look 
upon them as their best friends. The force used in 
contending with and overcoming difficulties passes 
into the wrestlers and is assimilated, and they grow 
stronger with every effort. The little child learns to 
walk after many a tumble; but he perseveres and 
grows stronger and eventually conquers. Tree life 



A HARDY LIFE. 23I 

grows vigorous as it wrestles with the blast, and plant 
life as it wilts under the beaming sun. Difficulties 
met and overcome make one strong, self-controlled, 
independent and ready again to conquer. To such 
we can look for courage, force, heroism and self-sacri- 
fice. Such qualities developed in the Scotch by their 
very difficulties and made them all they appear on the 
historic page. The most sublime chapters in any 
history recount the difficulties in the pathway of civil 
and religious liberty. The Scotch conquered them, 
and it made them mighty in word and deed. 

To-day every difficulty, every effort is taken out of 
the way of the youthful traveler. Parents have been 
blest themselves by beneficent efforts to procure for 
their descendants the easy chair upon which to rest 
every muscle, the convenient street car to save the 
beneficial walk and the housemaid to rob them of 
healthful household care and labor. Even in the do- 
main of education, its difficulties are softened and 
made easy, and so it follows that a set of weaklings in 
body and mind are to take the place of the fathers. 
Who has not observed the lack of strength and pur- 
pose in the religious thought and life of to-day? 
There is a superabundance of lip-service, but does it 
take a conquering hold of the heart and life? Does it 
send to the Word to search after its deep truths as for 
hidden treasure? I trow not. Ezekiel by the Spirit 
says what I would write: "They sit before thee as my 
people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do 
them; for with their mouth they show much love, but 
their heart goeth after their covetousness. And lo, 
thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that 



232 REMINISCENCES. 

hath a pleasant voice and can play well on an instru- 
ment." 

While these thoughts were taking shape, we drew 
near to Newton-Stewart, pleasantly situated upon the 
banks of the Cree, surrounded with interesting and 
attractive scenery. This place was founded by a 
younger branch of the Stewarts — Earls of Galloway — 
and has historic memoirs that include the site of the 
battle between Edward Bruce and the English. A 
short ride brought us to Wigtown, our objective point. 
The railway to this place is one of those quiet single 
lines, destitute of hurry and bustle, that imparts to 
surroundings a peaceful, dreamy radiance affecting 
even the sheep and cattle that contentedly graze and 
nibble on the hillsides. The morning was not very far 
spent, and the rather leisurely moving train gave 
grateful opportunity for gazing on the magnificent 
view on each side of us. A mass of hills in countless 
curves and crests overlooked Newton-Stewart and 
followed us in waves and ranges, their wooded tops 
glittering in the sunshine like the irridescent sheen of 
a peacock's neck. Alternating with these hills were 
reaches of rich, arable land and alluvial scenery. As 
we neared Wigtown, there were rocks and caves look- 
ing out upon a smooth bay and a bold promontory 
plunging into the blue sea and planting itself abruptly 
in the ocean with an air of bold defiance. Off in the 
distance, a magnificent view of the hills of Cairnsmore 
and Minnigaff were outlined upon the landscape in 
irregular ranges that ran out to meet the sea. 

The ancient village of Wigtown is situated upon a 
hill overlooking Wigtown Bay, a basin of the sea, and 



THE FRUIT OF SUFFERING. 233 

is a place of great antiquarian interest. It is bounded 
on the North by the clear waters of the beautiful 
Bladnoch that lose their identity in the sea near by, 
and across the Bay is the old Castle of Baldoon, the 
scene of the tragic story embellished by Sir Walter 
Scott in his "Bride of Lammermoor." But what at- 
tracted us to this place was its martyr memories. 

" We honor their name, 

And the heavenly flame 
That burned in their bosom bright ; 

And pray that their heirs 

May, with zeal like theirs, 
Stand up for the good and right." 

The simple story of the Wigtown martyrs is one of 
the most pathetic in history. Along with the martyr- 
dom of Stephen, their sufferings are incontestible 
proof that the Angel of the Covenant, who brought 
his Israel through the wilderness of Sinai, is none the 
less interested in bringing his people in every age 
through the wilderness of this world to their promised 
rest. The noble army of martyrs have done more to 
advance the kingdom of grace by their sharp and pa- 
tient sufferings than the multitudes of those who in 
quiet times have professed and preached the truth, 
and who have never been called out by fiery trials to 
show the energy and endurance of their principles and 
the power and preciousness of God's love in the 
heart. We much fear that if persecution should come 
now, professors would fall off "like leaves in wintry 
weather." It often seems as if God is preparing for a 
winnowing season, because professors of religion can 
be anything that will promote their worldly interests. 



234 REMINISCENCES. 

These are sought first, and convictions of truth are 
held in abeyance. Such dishonesty with God has a 
reflex action upon business relations, and trust in hu- 
manity is reduced to a very small minimum. This is 
so even among loud professors of religion and, most 
lamentable of all, even among those who are leaders 
in modern reform movements. 

The story of two of the Wigtown martyrs is as 
follows: Gilbert Wilson and his wife, who lived near 
Wigtown, conformed to Episcopacy when persecution 
began in the reign of Charles II. Mr. Wilson was in 
easy, comfortable circumstances and had three child- 
ren, Margaret aged 1 8, Thomas 1 6, and Agnes 1 3. 
The children had often attended the preaching services 
of the Covenanters, and the truths they taught sank 
deep into their hearts and became a part of themselves. 
Though so young in years, they would not conform to 
Episcopacy nor attend service in the parish church; 
neither would they take the oath renouncing the 
Covenants, which oath in the year 1685 was forced 
upon men and women all over the land, particularly in 
the South of Scotland. Persecution was at once insti- 
st'uted against them, and these children fled to the 
glens and caves and moss bogs for hiding places, and 
their parents were forbidden to harbor them and 
heavily fined for the faith of their children. Thomas, 
the son, escaped to Flanders and entered the army of 
William, Prince of Orange, and after the Revolution 
Settlement, served King William in the Castle of 
Edinburgh. 

The two daughters wandered as fugitives through 
Carrick, Galloway and Nithsdale, sharing the dangers 



MARTYRED WOMEN. 235 

and toils of other fugitives for Christ's sake, till upon 
the death of Charles II. there came a lull in the 
bloody work, and the two homesick pilgrims returned 
to visit their parents. They stopped with a friend 
near their home for a few days to see whether it 
would be safe to proceed farther. This friend was 
Margaret McLauchlan, a widow sixty years of age, 
of more than ordinary knowledge, wisdom and pru- 
dence and of exalted piety and devotion. She firmly 
resisted the abjuration oaths and when opportunity 
offered, listened to the persecuted ministers and joined 
sweet counsel with them in prayer and praise. She 
also gave the fugitives food and shelter. Accordingly 
on a Sabbath morning, when they were at family 
worship, the house was surrounded by a body of 
troopers, and they were all cast into the Thieves' 
Hole, an abominable prison of Wigtown yet in exist- 
ence. They were all then brought to trial before Sir 
Robert Grierson of Lagg and Colonel David Graham, 
brother of Claverhouse, the latter then being sheriff 
of Wigtown. They refused Episcopacy and were at 
once condemned to death, the sentence being that 
upon the nth day of May, 1685, they should all 
three be tied to stakes within the floodmark in Blad- 
nock Water where the sea flows at high tide there to 
be drowned. Mr. Wilson was permitted to become 
bondsman for his daughter Agnes on account of her 
youth in the sum of £180, which upon her return 
home was declared forfeited, and the now impoverished 
father was compelled to pay the bond. The sympa- 
thizing friends of young Margaret used every argu- 
ment to induce her to renounce the Covenants; but 



23$ REMINISCENCES. 

she kept her integrity with a cheerful face, accounting 
it honor to suffer for Christ and his truth. 

The barbarous sentence was executed at the time 
appointed. The aged widow and the youthful Margaret 
were led by the rude soldiery past the old kirkyard, 
where they were to repose in death's slumber, down 
the steep bank to the water's brink. Crowds of 
sympathizing friends lined the way; but they dared 
not manifest the slightest emotion. The older wo- 
man's stake was farther in the floodtide, so that her 
earlier death might terrify the other, but it only 
strengthened her, and when asked by the fiends what 
she thought of her friend now in the agonies of death, 
she said, " I only see Christ there wrestling in one of 
his members. We are not the sufferers. It is Christ 
in us; for he sends none a warfare upon their own 
charges." 

The death of Margaret Wilson was a most trium- 
phant one. As the hungry sea dashed against her, 
she sang in a clear voice that was heard above the 
hoarse roar of the angry billows: 

44 Let not the errors of my youth, 
Nor sins remembered be : 
In mercy, for thy goodness' sake, 
O Lord, remember me. 

44 The Lord is good and gracious, 
lie upright is also : 
lie therefore sinners will instruct 
In ways that they should go. 

44 The meek and lowly he will guide 
In j udgment just al way : 
To meek and poor afflicted ones 
He'll clearly teach his way. 



MONUMENTS. 237 

11 The whole paths or the Lord our God 
Are truth aud mercy sure, 
To such as keep his covenant 
And testimonies pure. 

"Now, for thine own name's sake, O Lord, 
I humbly thee entreat 
To pardon my iniquity; 
For it is very great. " 

She then repeated the eighth chapter of Romans and 
prayed fervently as the wild waters swept over her 
head, the quivering crest of each wave rising higher 
and higher. Thus were these two souls emancipated 
from their clay tabernacle and transported to the 
house of many mansions. 

The scene of the drowning is still pointed out. It 
is now a marshy meadow of the sea, the course of 
Bladnoch water being considerably changed during 
the more than two hundred years that have elapsed ; 
but there is the same steep bank, down which they 
came to the water and the old kirkyard by the way 
where they lie side by side. An iron railing encloses 
the spot, and the sleeping dust of three other Wig- 
town martyrs is included in the enclosure. Each one 
is marked by an ancient tombstone, that of Bonnie 
Margaret Wilson being a raised flat stone with a 
touching inscription in ancient lettering and orthog- 
raphy recording the strength and beauty of her faith. 

On a knoll called Windyhill is a handsome monu- 
ment to perpetuate the memory of several local 
martyrs. Their names and their history are inscribed 
on panels of the monument, and there are seats 
around it to refresh visitors who climb the hill. This 



23§ REMINISCENCES. 

hill commands a fine view of the surrounding country, 
and Wigtown — historic Wigtown — is planted at its 
base. In early times this was an important place. 
Many centuries ago a monastery, the outlines of which 
can yet be traced, stood upon the opposite bank from 
the old kirkyard. It was founded by Devorgilla, 
mother of John Baliol and Lady of Galloway, and 
was a lodging place for the monks of Scotland when 
on pilgrimages to St. Ninian, at Whithorn, the first 
Christian establishment in Scotland and which is situ- 
ated some distance nearer the point of the promontory. 
Doubtless good cheer and a jolly time awaited these 
lazy clericals when they turned aside at Wigtown to 
tarry for a few days and nights. During our stay we 
were accompanied by an interesting friend in the town, 
Mr. Gordon Frazer, at once poet and historian. He 
has since, though comparatively a young man, gone 
to his reward. He was a pious man, lamented the 
innovations in the Church and loved Scotland and her 
martyr memories with intense devotion. He sleeps, 
most probably, in the beautiful new cemetery that he 
took so much pains in showing us. 



WHAT OF SUFFERING? 239 



XIV. 

It is often questioned, and with a degree of plausi- 
bility, whether anything was gained by all the suffering 
and bloodshed that wasted the country for so many 
years. That question can only be answered by a 
careful study of the word of God. Human prudence 
can never answer it. There was a battle, and the issue 
was victory. The popular notion that truth can make 
progress without meeting opposition is a complete 
delusion. Christ came to send a sword and to kindle 
a fire, and the sword must be used and the fire must 
burn till the dross that hides the pure metal is con- 
sumed and the time comes for Christianity to triumph 
over all false systems. It cannot help but triumph, 
for God has promised it and is able also to perform. 
We are but instruments in his hand for accomplishing 
his work, often "his strange work." The blood of the 
Lamb ran like a silver cord through all the self-sacri- 
fice and heroism of the martyrs. Love of life was 
strong, but love of Christ was stronger. 

To-day we have unbounded reason to praise God 
for the blood of the martyrs. We can hardly estimate 
the blessedness of that time when Scotland renewed 
the Covenant in 1638; when the Spirit was poured 
out from on high as floods upon the dry ground; 



24O REMINISCENCES. 

when a nation seemed to be born in a day; when it 
could be said of Scotland as of Judah, "And all Judah 
rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their 
heart and sought him with their whole desire, and he 
was found of them, and the Lord gave them rest 
round about." History testifies to the great reverence 
for sacred things that prevailed at that time; the hu- 
mility, the love and the joy, each esteeming the other 
better than himself. 

It was the day of the Redeemer's power in saving 
the country from absolute despotism. It begat a 
strong desire to have vital godliness prevail among all 
classes. The means used for this end were the faithful 
preaching of the gospel, public examinations of the 
people and Presbyterial and pastoral visitation. At 
pastoral visitation the pastor put such questions as the 
following to the heads of families: "Have you been 
conscientious since last visitation in maintaining secret 
prayer, family worship, in waiting on the public ordi- 
nances of the gospel, and in aiming at maintaining a 
walk and conversation becoming the gospel?" The 
ministers and elders were questioned with regard to 
their duties. They were asked if there were any pro- 
fane swearers, any drunkards, any Sabbath -breakers 
among them. Such were some of the means used for 
making the people feel that godliness is profitable unto 
all things. 

Writers say that the revival of religion at this period 
was so great that fighting and swearing almost ceased. 
The drinking which had previously abounded was so 
abandoned that a drunken man was scarcely to be 
seen. Most of the drinking places were closed, the 



RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM. 24 1 

keepers saying, " Their trade was broken, people were 
become so sober." Scotland never enjoyed such an 
effective temperance law as was her covenanted Refor- 
mation. This law was the oath of God, sworn in his 
name, in agreement with his word and in defense of 
his cause. The Covenanters felt bound to God and to 
one another, and like large hearted, enlightened and 
true patriots, they sought to have the glory and happi- 
ness of this land extend to other lands. One result 
was the work of the Westminster Assembly, the 
grandest exhibition of truth outside of the Bible, 
though greatly disparaged by many who have pro- 
fessed agreement with it. Years of sore trial and 
fiery persecution followed the high privileges enjoyed 
then, because they were unsteadfast in his covenant. 
But the blessings of civil and religious liberty so 
dearly bought by a witnessing remnant through 
twenty-eight years of fiery trial were secured to com- 
ing generations. The Reformers w r ere both builders 
and soldiers, like Nehemiah and his brethren who built 
the walls of Jerusalem, each with his weapon by his 
side. The enemies of the Reformation were almost 
universally enemies of civil liberty. 

Religion fosters the love of country as well as the 
love of God, of kindred and of home, and enlarges 
the heart to the whole brotherhood of man. The 
Bible is full of patriotism. It breathes and weeps and 
exults in the Psalms and in the prophecies. Look at 
the patriotism of Moses choosing to suffer affliction 
with the slaves of Egypt rather than be heir to Pha- 
raoh's throne, and of Nehemiah turning from the 
honors of the imperial court of Persia out of love to 
16 



242 REMINISCENCES. 

the city of his fathers, inspiring the little band of 
exiles that the walls might be built in troublous times. 
Why need Queen Esther care for the children of her 
people? She was mistress of a throne, yet how self- 
sacrificing in that trying time! "If I perish, I perish." 
How full of this spirit was Paul, with his great 
heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart for his 
kinsmen according to the flesh. It was the spirit of 
our great example, Christ, who endured the wrath of 
God and death for his people. It was this exalted 
patriotism that was the mighty moving power in the 
hearts of the Reformers and martyrs in every age. 

The liberty enjoyed by Britain to-day and by these 
United States was fostered and kept alive on many a 
bloody field and many a wild and lonely moor. Is it 
too much to believe that those thrilling words of Rev. 
James Guthrie, as he passed from the scaffold into the 
glory within the veil, are still ringing along the ages 
and will yet be the watchword when God sends a 
reviving time: "The covenants, the covenants shall 
yet be Scotland's reviving." When it comes, it must 
be heart work. It is when the Lord brings the third 
part through the fire and refines them as silver is re- 
fined that he says of them, " It is my people, and they 
shall say, The Lord is my God." 

The truth inwrought in the heart of a people by 
means of trial and suffering will longest and most 
effectually endure. No lesson is more persistently 
taught by the Saviour than that every faithful witness 
must bear his cross. "Except a man deny himself 
and take up his cross and follow me, he cannot be my 
disciple." The sufferings of the apostles and primitive 



GUILT OF DECLINE. 243 

Christians were inseperably connected with that won- 
derful success which accompanied their efforts to 
spread abroad the knowledge of Christ by the gospel. 
Suffering produces zeal, earnestness, devotion, and 
leads to a firmer hold upon the truth and a larger 
experience of its power, as it becomes deep-rooted in 
the soul. Without it views of truth will be superficial, 
flimsy, fanciful, evanescent. It is such a condition of 
mind respecting the truth that is the most alarming 
characteristic of the Church in this age. The false 
idea has taken hold largely of professing Christians, 
that religion can be pleasantly mingled with almost 
all kinds of worldly enjoyments, that there need be no 
deathly antagonism. On the other hand, Christianity 
has always gained its grandest and most enduring 
triumphs when the world was putting forth its most 
desperate efforts to crush it. Thus it was in Scotland. 
So it will ever be. 

Those who decline from the purest and highest at- 
tainments are held by the Head of the Church to be 
the most culpable in their unfaithfulness. For nearly 
nineteen hundred years the Jews have been made to 
exemplify this truth. They were the only people in 
formal covenant with God. They forsook that cove- 
nant and were perfidious in it. When they shall ask, 
" Wherefore hath the Lord done this unto this land? 
What meaneth the heat of his great anger? then men 
shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of 
the Lord God of their fathers which he made with 
them when he brought them forth out of the land of 
Egypt." Jewish history is typical of all Church 
history. The purest condition of the Church since it 



244 REMINISCENCES. 

was planted by the apostles was that which Scotland 
enjoyed under the Second Reformation. The profes- 
sion of the Westminster Standards not only secured 
to Scotland the continuance of that measure of pure 
religion which has so long blessed her, but has spread 
its influence through the institutions of this land. It 
has been the acknowledged source both of the great 
power of the Presbyterian element in this country 
and the excellency of our civil and religious freedom. 

What shall be the result of our perfidy if we yield 
up to the enemy this precious inheritance to which we 
are bound by the covenants of our fathers? Do those 
who join in the outcry against these attainments know 
what they are doing? Have they considered the con- 
sequences so sadly depicted in the experience of those 
who forsook the Lord God of their fathers? Let us 
be warned in time. 

The elements of error that troubled the Church 
during her early struggles, though existing in some- 
what different forms, are asserting themselves at 
present more vigorously than ever. The old principles 
of infidelity seek to distort every discovery in science 
into an engine for the overthrow of respect for the 
Bible. Materialism substitutes the beauties of nature 
as the representatives of divine holiness in place of 
the holiness and spirituality of divine truth, the image 
and glory of Christ, and the gaudy displays of ritual- 
ism for the simplicity of the means of divine institution 
by which only this glory can be seen. The principle 
of divine inspiration is attacked by pretentious Bible 
scholars, with the virulence of assured success, and 
human powers are exalted above the divine. Human 



STRUGGLES NEEDED. 245 

thought, however, moves in cycles, as do the heavenly 
bodies which observe their appointed rounds. Modern 
thought that so impertinently vaunts itself to-day is 
old and circles round in its natural orbit. That which 
has been will be. The opposition to evangelical truth, 
in its main outline, is the same to-day as in days 
gone by. 

The errors that assail the Church have their recesses 
in history where, sifted and analyzed, they are laid 
away and catalogued. When opportunity occurs they 
are brought out with new titles. Under the surface 
may still be read the old titles, Arianism, Socinianism, 
Rationalism, Pelagianism, Sabellianism. These are 
the engines with which the evil one seeks to break 
down the battlements of the Church. But in propor- 
tion to the greater energy and malignity with which 
they are used will the completeness of their destruction 
be realized. 

But the struggles of the Church will make her 
victory the more illustrious in the end. Sometimes 
the hearts of God's people become discouraged in the 
midst of their struggles through the languishing of 
their faith in the promises. But not only does the 
character of their great Captain assure the victory in 
the fact that he is their leader, but enough has been 
fulfilled of these promises to give abundant assurance 
that they shall all be fulfilled in the final grand con- 
summation of the overthrow of all enemies. It may 
be now the evening time. The light may be small as 
the cloud which Elijah's servant saw rising from the 
sea. But there shall be a brighter effulgence. With 
what a refreshing influence shall weary hearts hear 



246 REMINISCENCES. 

the voice of the watchman as he cries, " The morning 
cometh!" As the victory is assured, so it will not be 
long delayed. As progress in material development 
is now most rapid and great movements in the course 
of human achievements amaze us with their magni- 
tude, the providence of God will not be behind in 
applying these to the advancement of the kingdom of 
Christ. The great systems of iniquity that once re- 
quired the operation of truth for ages to uproot them, 
are now overthrown by the same power as in a day. 
The providence of God is preparing the way for the 
Spirit's work. Short and sharp and terrible will be 
the final conflict when God shall " arise to shake terri- 
bly the earth." The fire shall burn up the "wood, 
hay and stubble," but will bring out the " gold, silver 
and precious stones." To maintain purity of doctrine 
and worship, the Church Militant must be a struggling 
Church. Her warfare is not yet accomplished; she is 
to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the 
saints against a wily foe who is represented as coming 
down with great wrath, knowing his time is short. 
The sensation that leads in new and doubtful paths is 
so delightful and so persuasive that we neglect to 
bring every act and principle to the true touchstone. 
It is but a trifle — the turning aside is but for a mo- 
ment, and yet how far reaching the consequences! 
The sin of Jeroboam has not yet spent its strength. 
These principles come to the front in contrasting 
Scotland's reforming days with the present. 

" The pilot as he nears the bay, 
Refuses at the helm to stay, 
The vessel on destruction's way 



POLI I ICAL WRONGS. 247 

Is headlong driven. 
And yet the wind that blew astray, 
Was wind from heaven." 

A glance at the present political condition of affairs 
in Scotland reveals the fact that there are some wrongs 
to be righted. The land system of Scotland, and 
indeed of all Britain, is an oppressive one. Individual 
owners of land are very few; consequently the few 
own vast tracts of land that have been transformed 
into game preserves for the pleasure of the lordly 
owners. This is notably so in the Highlands, and the 
small farmers, or crofters, are not only reduced to a 
few in number, but their holdings are so small in area 
that it is impossible to keep the wolf from the door, 
unless they engage in fishing or some other occupation, 
while millions of acres lie idle for the use of sportsmen 
alone. The crofter cannot give a high education to 
his children, nor make life an idle one for them. The 
"auld clachan," the Gaelic word for "a circle of 
stones," and used in ancient times for a place of wor- 
ship, is quite rustic, and the food of the home circle is 
plain but substantial and health-giving. There is a 
growing demand for land division and land reform, 
which will no doubt come at no very distant day. 

We of America manifest great impatience at the 
existing state of things in the British Isles; but we 
forget to clear our own skirts. We have the Indian 
and the Negro on our hands. What of them? We 
cannot shift responsibility in their case. They have 
belonged to the soil for hundreds of years and, as a 
class, they are still oppressed, down-trodden, hated, 
the light of knowledge withheld, robbed, scorned, and 



248 REMINISCENCES. 

almost every indignity heaped upon them. Their 
condition is not so pleasant as that of the crofter. 

I do not wish to draw a picture of the crofters and 
of Highland life too sombre for reality; for eminent 
writers have testified that they are pre-eminently a 
religious people, well instructed in the doctrines, dis- 
cipline and worship of the Second Reformation and, 
therefore, able and anxious to indoctrinate their 
children at the fireside. A late writer mentions having 
seen in the lowly houses of poor crofters and cottars a 
little shelf of well-thumbed books that had descended 
from father to son and were, perhaps, two centuries 
old. These books were evangelical, every one of 
them food for the soul, while the minds of the dwellers 
were deeply spiritual and weaned from the world. It 
is just to say that something has been done to right 
some of the wrongs of the crofters. The " Crofters' 
Act" of 1886 fixed fair rents and canceled arrears 
impossible of liquidation, the adjustment of which is 
in the hands of a Commission. An American writer, 
who gives his impressions from personal intercourse 
with these people, says: "But all these crofter and 
fisher folk of Scotland, east and west, possess the 
rugged qualities of integrity, honesty, loyalty, with 
an undemonstrative, but sincere hospitality, rendering 
them ever patient and steadfast in their lowly lives, 
and a folk it does one good to come among and 
know." 

The time now drew near for our departure from 
"the land of the leal," teeming with hoary memories 
and the lights and shadows of ancient glory that still 
alternate among the hills and glens and play over the 



ADIEU TO SCOTLAND. 249 

moors and straths. Would that the vigor and unself- 
ishness, the lofty inspiration and the exalted heroism 
of a people that fed and refreshed themselves at the 
fountain of living waters would revive and assert 
themselves among the Scottish people and among us, 
their descendants; for the times need it. The enemy 
comes in like a flood; comes in, not as of old, with 
fire and sword, but with more subtle tactics. The 
Church is corrupted by flatteries much harder to be 
resisted than persecution. Satan tried it upon Eve 
and was successful, and ever since he has wielded it as 
one of his choice weapons. 

We were leaving Scotland confessing our love and 
admiration for her. We had tasted her generous 
hospitality and kindliness all through our journey. 
We had felt the kinship asserting itself stronger than 
ever before, thrilling every nerve with happy recollec- 
tions as, homeward bound, we turned thither our faces. 

We had visited moss-clad ruins and shattered arches, 
ancient castles and crypts and precious spots where 
the martyrs lie, till we began to wonder what principle 
within us caused such interest not only in the burial 
places of the dead, but in the works of the dead. The 
answer came: It is the touch of nature that makes the 
whole world akin. It makes us realize that some day 
we shall lie down too and be forgotten below till the 
last trumpet shall summon all alike, whether from the 
crypt of the royal cathedral or from the resting places 
under the blue vault of heaven, where the shadows 
come and go; where the gentle rains fall and the 
golden light gleams in summer time, in autumn time 
and in all seasons. 



250 REMINISCENCES. 

As the train that carried us from Wigtown bore us 
in the direction of Stranraer, we added our testimony 
to the words of our poet friend, an ardent Scotchman: 

"We're quate, decent bodies in Wigtown toon, 
Na gi'en tae climb up an' knock ither folk down. 
We leeve a' sae quate, 
Sae douce and sedate, 
Baith wee folk an' great, 
Here in Wigtown toon." 

There was not much of incident by the way as we 
traveled to Stranraer, where we were to spend the 
evening and night; so we had time to reflect and 
retrospect. The whole journey through Scotland was 
a succession of delightful surprises. We knew it 
would be delightful, but had fixed in our minds just 
where the little episodes of delight would come in. 
Suffice it to say, they did not come according to our 
plan, but after an infinitely better one and greatly 
transcending our own, because these plans emanated 
from the divine mind. So impressed were we with 
the goodness and perfect ordering of our heavenly 
Father, that the thought came, Perhaps heaven will be 
a succession of happy surprises. 

Stranraer is situated on an arm of the sea and has 
the characteristics of other Scottish cities. From this 
point we were to ship for Ireland early next morning. 
A night's sound sleep and several acts of kindness 
from our hostess of the comfortable temperance hotel 
was a pleasant memory of Stranraer. As the steamer 
sailed away we watched the shore recede from sight, 
and thoughts were busy with farewells to dear Scot- 
land. We thought of her virtues and her graces that 



HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. 25 I 

together have given her strength and beauty; each 
without the other is defective. We thought of the 
blessings of a people who worship the Lord Jehovah, 
who revere the Sabbath and the institutions of the 
Word, and we longed for a reviving time, a Third 
Reformation that shall sweep away every false founda- 
tion — a reviving time that shall react upon the 
churches in our own land, in Ireland, and throughout 
Christendom; the time to favor Zion, the time when 
her walls shall be salvation and her gates praise. 



252 REMINISCENCES. 



XV. 

It cannot be said that we sailed across the North 
Channel to Ireland in a gallant bark. There was. no 
poetry in the narrow little cutter that bore us over. 
Transportation was the only idea in the make-up of 
the vessel, although among its human freight were 
ladies of quality. But the sea as it rolled and tossed 
and crested its waves had lost none of its majesty and 
power. It was still our Father speaking to us in this 
mighty work of his hands. As we sailed out into the 
sea, Ailsa Craig, called " Paddy's Milestone," towered 
in lofty and solitary grandeur to the height of twelve 
hundred feet and is said to be two miles in circumfer- 
ence. It is a bare, bleak rock away out in the fretful 
water miles from land, and not a living thing is to be 
seen on its surface. All were on deck sniffing the salt 
sea air delightfully and busy with their own thoughts 
and their own destinations, when rain drops began to 
fall briskly, and all sought refuge below. After reach- 
ing shelter, the most sensible thing to do was to go 
asleep, which we hastened to do to get even with the 
sea, otherwise we would have been very sea-sick. 
When our vessel landed us at Larne, it was amusing 
enough to be interesting to see a number of forlorn 
faces pulling themselves into the car for Belfast, and 






INTO IRELAND. 253 

when seated, gradually resuming their normal state. 
Sea-sickness is not to be coveted, even though it 
should be a Scotch-Irish attack. 

Our introduction to Ireland was in a first-class car, 
very neat and comfortable, and filled with gentle ladies 
of unexceptional deportment and noble enough look- 
ing to be princesses. Whether they hailed from 
Scotland or Ireland it was impossible to tell, as their 
speech did not betray them, they not having learned 
the' garrulo-usness of the home element called Yankee. 
That individual would doubtless have known the 
name, age and pedigree of each occupant before 
traveling many miles, or at least tried the game of 
finding out. 

The railroad followed close along the shore of 
Lough Larne to the terminus of the Lough, and then 
took up the shore of Belfast Lough, thus giving us all 
along the journey to Belfast glimpses of the sea with 
a beautiful shore line, here and there adorned with 
comfortable homes and prosperous villages. The 
Loughs mentioned are just arms of the sea, and we 
could not distinguish between them and the Firths and 
some of the Lochs of Scotland. The names of the 
same things and the different spelling were only a part 
of the many things in which these two peoples differ, 
though such close neighbors and so near of kin. 

We stopped long enough for a view of the historic 
town of Carrickfergus, situated upon Belfast Lough, 
about ten miles from the city. Its chief feature is its 
picturesque Castle, supposed to have been erected in 
the twelfth century. It stands upon a rock about 
thirty feet high, projecting boldly into the Lough 



254 REMINISCENCES. 

which bounds it on three sides. It commands the 
entrance to the Lough and has lately been remodeled 
so as to include the defenses of modern warfare. In 
1608 a wall sixteen feet high was completed, enclosing 
the entire town, portions of which are still standing. 
In 1690 William Prince of Orange landed with his 
army at this Castle, just twelve days before the battle 
of the Boyne. The rock on which the king stepped 
at the landing is still used for a landing rock. 

It took but a few minutes to reach Belfast, and with 
the unlocking of the car door began the analysis of 
this new world. We were surprised to see such a 
resemblance to New York and Philadelphia. The 
reason was quite clear. The influx from over-popu- 
lated Ireland to these cities has impressed itself upon 
the people in feature, in form, in gait, in accent, and 
even in modes of speech. The incoming has been 
strong enough to create an atmosphere affecting the 
manners of the people. There was the same begging 
for patronage that we see at home, arousing the same 
feeling in us to send them all adrift. We, however, 
selected the jaunting car for transportation purposes. 
The funny little jaunting car is certainly a product of 
Ireland, a sort of embodiment in the line of vehicles 
of the native wit and availability of that commodity 
in the Irish race, as the following will illustrate: An 
Englishman whose home was in America was visiting 
Ireland and seeing a donkey said to a son of Green 
Erin near by, "There is a native Irishman." The 
electric spark kindled in an instant and the reply came, 
" Arrah! he has never deserted his native land nor been 
ashamed of his tongue." Their wit flashes and scin- 



BELFAST. 255 

tillates and overpowers and captures with that easiest 
and most pleasant weapon, the application of the 
ludicrous side to the affairs of every day life. 

Our lodging place was engaged at Patterson's Tem- 
perance Hotel, No. 7 College Square, about two miles 
distant, and we fixed ourselves on the jaunting car 
delighted with the prospect of such a long ride. 
These cars are low, two-wheeled apparatuses, with an 
open seat ranged over each wheel, back to back. The 
drivers perch at right angles to the passengers. The 
above named appliances, including a very slender and 
precarious arrangement to hold by, is about the sum 
and substance of the whole make up. It is drawn by 
a little bit of a horse, not much above the pony 
variety, that makes quick, short steps, thus lending a 
cutting or sawing motion to the concern. With flour- 
ish of whip and rein, away we clattered, our feet 
dangling not very far from the cobble stones over 
which we raced so swiftly. Between laughing at the 
novel ride and the effort to hold on we were satisfied 
when the machine drew up at our hotel. 

We were met by a gentlemanly host who knew of 
our coming and gave us our room at once. The 
ordering of the house was excellent, our room neat 
and tasteful and, after a night's sound sleep we woke 
to find the rain pattering from a leaden sky. It was 
the morning of the 4th of September, and the rainy 
season had certainly come. We looked out upon the 
street, and pedestrians were moving hither and thither 
as unconcernedly as if they were only out for a bath. 
Few carried umbrellas or seemed conscious of any 
discomfort. Time to us was precious, and we remem- 



256 REMINISCENCES. 

bered the old adage, " When in Turkey, do as turkeys 
do." We therefore, as far as that particular went, did 
as the natives and marshaled ourselves into the streets 
armed with what protection we could raise. 

Belfast is the principal city of the County of Antrim 
in the province of Ulster. It is situated at the head 
of Belfast Lough upon an alluvial deposit reclaimed 
from the marshes of Lagan Water; consequently it is 
but slightly elevated above sea level. On the land 
side it is picturesquely bounded by ranges of hills, 
among them Cave Hill, whose rugged, rocky sides 
rise 1 185 feet above the sea which it overlooks. As 
we pursued our way along the wide and well-kept 
street, now reconciled to the rain which nobody 
minded, it was easy to see the life and prosperity and 
business qualities of this handsome city. 

Before profane history found its way into books, 
there was an almost unmistakable record of events 
and of races and tongues stamped in resemblances of 
these races, in coincidences, in old ballads and tradi- 
tions. Enough of this exists to venture upon the 
assertion that from some central point of an over- 
populated district in Asia, successive waves of colonists 
and ambitious conquerors cut loose from the parent 
stock and rippled out like waves in all directions, some 
of them eventually reaching what was in olden times 
called the uttermost parts of the earth. There these 
offshoots set up for themselves and planted another 
center of existence. Ireland and Great Britain, as 
well as France and Germany, were early peopled by 
the celtic race that originally migrated from Central 
Asia. 



ST. PATRICK. 257 

The Roman Empire in time became co-extensive 
with almost the entire known world, but from some 
cause, perhaps internal dissensions, the Roman army 
never set foot on Ireland, nor did it ever penetrate the 
natural fastnesses of the Highlands of Scotland. 
These two sections of the original Celtic race for 
long years succeeded in maintaining a kind of tribal 
independence. 

Ireland is divided into four provinces, Leinster, 
Munster, Ulster and Connaught, which were once 
ruled by independent princes. These provinces are 
now subdivided into. counties. 

The story of the introduction of the gospel into 
Ireland has an earlier date than that of the missionary 
labors of St. Patrick. It seems almost certain that it 
was introduced in a very humble way among the 
Pagan population by the private and personal efforts 
of members of the Christian Church of Gaul. It is 
believed now that St. Patrick was born in Scotland, in 
the valley of the Clyde, and that he came first to Ire- 
land as a captive slave. He was born near the close 
of the fourth century in a Christian family in Scotland, 
and was baptized, but did not experience conversion 
till, as a captive boy, torn from his parents, he was set 
to herd cattle upon the bleak sides of Mount Slemish 
near Ballymena. The Spirit of the Lord works when 
and where and how he will. Thousands and tens of 
thousands of conversions were folded up with the 
work of this unknown slave boy and which eventually 
changed the entire history of Ireland and the national 
religion. The Christian Church was then compara- 
tively pure. The writings of St. Patrick now extant 
17 



258 REMINISCENCES. 

do not recognize any other spiritual head of the 
Church than Christ, nor do they contain allusions to 
the superstitions of Rome. 

There are prominent facts in connection with the 
idea that Ireland and Scotland are indebted to each 
other. Ireland was the home of the Scots. They 
embraced Christianity as taught by the self-denying 
and devoted Patrick and passed over to Scotland in 
the beginning of the sixth century. They established 
themselves upon the western coast and eventually they 
and the Picts of the North became one people. 

As we are upon the relations between Scotland and 
Ireland, other points of interest come to the front. In 
1 175 Henry II. of England obtained from Adrian IVY, 
the only Englishman who ever occupied the chair of 
St. Peter, authority over the whole of Ireland. Pope 
Adrian ordered all the natives of Ireland to obey the 
king of England. This remarkable document was 
issued in the twelfth century. The introduction of the 
Feudal system followed this transaction, and in it can 
be recognized the germ of the "Land Question" 
which has disturbed the people ever since. The 
theory of the Feudal system was, that all the land 
belonged to the king, who had the right to make 
grants of land to his followers, who in turn rendered 
him the services of themselves and their retainers. 
The grant of land soon became hereditary and passed 
to the owner's heirs without the consent of the tenants 
and if the heirs failed or became attainted for treason 
the land reverted to the crown. 

To carry out all the provisions of the system, the 
whole structure of society had to be revolutionized, 



POLITICAL DIVISION. 259 

and in attempting this the Irish rebelled, regarding it 
as a high-handed invasion of their rights. A confed- 
eracy was formed near the close of Henry's reign, and 
the English were driven out of the province of Muns- 
ter. But no sooner was success at hand than the 
Irish Celts, as they are doing to-day, fell to quarreling 
among themselves, and the English regained all they 
had lost. But Ireland would not down; she remained 
as troublesome as ever. In the seventeenth century 
the earls of Tyrconnel and Tyrone were accused of 
treason; but before it was proved against them they 
fled. This was taken as evidence of their guilt, and 
Ulster, the whole of the North, was placed at the dis- 
posal of the English king. Thus the map of Ulster 
became a clean chart for King James I. to draw upon 
as he pleased, and hence an entirely new order was 
instituted. The object of James was to introduce a 
Protestant and anti-Irish element which should even- 
tually supersede the native Catholic element. This 
move was called the " Plantation of Ulster." 

The land was soon occupied, principally by the 
Scotch, many coming from the near coast of Argyle- 
shire and, most probably, lineal descendants of the 
Ulster Scots who had established themselves in Scot- 
land eleven centuries before. It was an act of wise 
and sagacious statesmanship and a source of benefit 
and blessing not only to the colonists, but to the 
native population among whom their lot was cast. 
The colonists had seen troublous times in their own 
land. They had been trained there by hard discipline. 
They knew how to fight for liberty of conscience, and 
they also knew how to work. Hence the wilderness 



26o REMINISCENCES. 

of Ulster became a fruitful field, while walled towns 
arose in the midst of waving grain fields and rosy 
orchards. They were precisely the men to form a 
strong and self-reliant and prosperous population. 
The plantation also brought with it the blessings of 
civil and religious liberty. It is a fundamental of 
Scottish Presbyterianism that " God alone is Lord of 
the conscience," and this is the underlying principle 
of civil and religious liberty. 

Many noble and gifted sons and daughters of the 
Scottish Church were driven by persecution at differ- 
ent times to seek refuge in Ireland. Thus we see the 
mutual obligation existing between the two countries 
and how they are bound together. It is mainly frat- 
ernal and should not be otherwise, looking at the 
proximity of the two countries, the Mull of Kintyre 
being but twelve miles across the water from the coast 
of Antrim in the province of Ulster. 

In the city of Belfast we did not feel as if we were 
in a strange land. Indeed the city is quite American 
in many of the features to which I have already 
referred, caused by the waves of emigration that have 
swept our home shores from time to time. The gait 
of pedestrians was familiar. The persistence of mer- 
chants in selling their goods and wares had a savor of 
our own land, and even the smile of welcome that 
greeted purchasers brought back visions of our early 
home where the proprietor was an intimate in the 
family. We had reasons abundant to add to the testi- 
mony of others that a kinder-hearted, more generous 
people do not exist. They are quick-tongued and, 
perhaps, quick-tempered, and wit and humor flow 



A GOOD PEOPLE. 26 1 

spontaneously. There are anomalies in their national 
character which may spring from the contest growing 
out of the mixture of races. In the nature of things, 
where two or more races are associated they absorb 
one another, and the traits of all who are represented 
crop out here and there, and contradictions in nature 
ensue. 

We were certain of one thing, so far as we could 
discern; in Ulster "unhappy Ireland" was a farce. 
There was the thrift and enterprise of a sturdy race, 
the intense love of country and home and kindred 
that distinguish the Celtic races. There was also the 
resolute Puritanism of the Ulster colonists, the only 
Protestants who could impress the Catholic peasantry, 
because the vital heat of Protestantism had been 
kindled in their hearts long ago. The Irish Presbyte- 
rian Church at the last census had a membership of 
482,557; the Episcopal Church a membership of 
639,574, besides a number of congregations of Asso- 
ciate and Reformed Presbyterians over against a 
Roman Catholic membership of 3,960,891. 

Presbyterianism has maintained its position in Ire- 
land under difficulties of no ordinary character. For 
two centuries penal laws were executed against them 
far more severely than against the Roman Catholic 
population. Their worship was proscribed, their min- 
isters imprisoned and, until within fifty years, there 
were no public schools, nor could their ministers be 
educated at home. All this because Episcopacy was 
the established religion. Yet they flourished during 
this dreary period; their very difficulties training them 
and fitting them to take a foremost place in the coun- 



262 REMINISCENCES. 

try for intelligence, morality and enterprise. Says a 
late writer, "Since the original Ulster Plantation, there 
have been various emigrations from Scotland into 
Ireland. Up to the last few years indeed the Irish 
Presbyterian Church was constantly receiving from all 
parts of Scotland accessions of men, many of whom 
came to be regarded as among the most intelligent, 
practical, devoted and generous members of her com- 
munion. In Dublin, Belfast, Derry and other influential 
centers this Scottish element has been and is a great 
source of solid strength to the Church ; while through- 
out the south and west the familiar designation * Scots 
Church' on many a humble conventicle proclaims its 
own story." These scattered congregations represent 
the various Presbyterian denominations in Scotland, 
and as a rule the members live peaceably with the 
native Celts. 

Belfast is a church-going place, and on the Sabbath 
all business and bustle were suspended. Although 
the rain poured all day, the congregations with which 
we worshiped were well represented. Dr. Chancellor, 
Reformed Presbyterian, in whose church we worshiped 
in the morning, gave us an excellent sermon, clear and 
decided in doctrine and tender and modest in delivery. 
In the evening we worshiped in the church of which 
Dr. Hanna is pastor. It is a large and handsome 
church edifice and in spite of the rain was well filled 
with fine looking people. A grand and imposing 
Catholic church is near by, and we mistook it in the 
mist for Dr. Hanna's church and were about to enter 
with the crowds that were hurrying in. After a mo- 
ment's reflection, however, we put the query to a 



PLEASANT FRIENDS. 263 

young woman, "Is this Dr. Hanna's church?" The 
reply leaped into her face with a scowl, and we read it 
before the answer came. 

Monday the rain fell, likewise Tuesday and the rest 
of the week; but we regarded it not. The universal 
testimony was: "No harm in it in this climate." Out 
the Antrim Road we went, through as handsome a 
suburb as can be seen anywhere and climbed up the 
side of a steep acclivity that we might look over the 
city. A British fleet of warships was lying at anchor 
in the Lough, and as we looked out upon the whole 
scene of water and sky, of city, hills and dales we 
thought it very beautiful and felt increased interest in 
the longing that this people have for encouragement 
to foster and develop their industries and thus give 
circulation and education to that thrift and skill that 
seems to be pining in some parts of Ireland for want 
of an outlet. Belfast and all Ulster are wide awake; 
but a part is not equal to the whole. If one member 
suffers, the whole body feels it. 

In Sydenham, a suburb of Belfast, we found warm- 
hearted friends whose homes were a delight, where the 
social gathering at the fireside glowed with a warmth 
and a welcome very refreshing to us, and which will 
always be a happy memory. Here we spent a Sab- 
bath in pleasant companionship and worshiped with 
the congregation of which Rev. Mr. McDermot is 
pastor. It is a handsome suburb and is growing into 
a very desirable place to live. 



264 REMINISCENCES, 



XVI. 

With headquarters at Belfast, we took a run out 
through Ulster as far as the Giants' Causeway. At 
Port Rush we came to the sea, and from this thriving 
little place we were transported in an electric motor 
car along the sea-coast to the Causeway, a distance of 
eight miles. The coast is high and rock-bound. 
Looking out upon the sea, these rocks are split and 
serrated by the ceaseless gnawings of the waves and 
are cut into caves and chasms and bridges and avenues 
through which the sea rushes and dashes its spume to 
the top of the cliff. Many of the rocks are mottled 
with a chalky substance that exhibits curious forma- 
tions. One resembles a colossal human face. 

Dunluce Castle is situated upon one of the rocky 
promontories washed by the sea. Its turrets and 
towers are dismantled, and the whole of the vast 
fabric is hoary with an age so distant and obscure that 
its history can only be picked out of the mists. 
Doubtless it was an important stronghold when Ire- 
land was peer among realms. The Causeway was 
quite a surprise; a more curious formation than we 
had expected to see. It is a cropping out of a mass 
of basalt from 300 to 500 feet thick and covers an 
area of 1200 square miles. The basalt is uncovered 



giants' causeway. 265 

at the Causeway and dips under the sea. It is colum- 
nar and is an unequal pavement formed of the tops of 
polygonal columns fitting as closely as masonry. The 
columns are mostly hexagonal, though some are five, 
seven, and nine-sided. One column is a triangular 
prism. Each column is divided into joints that fit 
perfectly, the concave at the end of one length fitting 
into the convex of the other. The basaltic columns 
at this place are uncovered for a length of nine hun- 
dred feet. In places the columns are broken off below 
the level of the sea, and the cavities or wells are filled 
with salt water. The sides of these are brilliant with 
the most exquisite sea mosses and ferns and lettuce 
that stream out in the clear water and give glimpses 
of the depth. The bottoms of the wells are covered 
with tiny shells in delicate shades of coloring. Upon 
examination these mosses were found to be alive with 
sea shells so small they could scarcely be detected 
without the aid of a glass. 

While we were exploring the marvelous w r ells formed 
by the missing columns of basalt, and gathering from 
the sides of the wells sprays of mosses in a great 
variety of beautiful tints, heavy rain drops startled us, 
and without being satisfied we were compelled to re- 
trace our steps. By this time all the beggars and 
venders of fancy articles along the way were in full 
flourish, and the former would certainly have been 
successful, had it not been that we had seen plenty of 
their ilk before. When we reached our car the rain 
had begun to pour. The abundance of rain and the 
salt atmosphere in Ireland gave to verdure of all 
classes a richer coloring in shades of green than we 



266 REMINISCENCES. 

had noticed elsewhere, so that the shout of the Hiber- 
nian, "Green Erin, my darling," "first gem of the 
ocean," " first flower of the sea," is not simply the 
gush that accompanies happy associations. 

At Port Rush we branched off to take in the inter- 
esting city of Londonderry, situated on the river 
Foyle. Our hotel on Foyle Street was managed by 
an Irish lady of fine presence and most kindly deport- 
ment. She saw our plight from the constant rain and 
ordered a fire which was as refreshing as the tea and 
table garniture that soon followed. Next morning the 
sky was dark and frowning; but we had to make the 
most of our time in both cloud and sunshine and were 
early on the march. It seems to rain without effort in 
both Scotland and Ireland. A visitor once referred to 
this fact in the presence of a Scotch boy who lived in 
Greenock, saying, "Why, it rains all the time in Scot- 
land." "Naw," was the cool reply, "it sometimes 
snaws." A few items of history may be referred to 
here to show why this quaint city is so replete with 
interest. 

Ireland has been and is even now the scene of plots 
and counterplots. In 1641 the bitter feeling of the 
native Irish broke out in fearful insurrections. The 
Protestant population of Ulster were driven from their 
homes, butchered and thrown by hundreds into Bann 
river and the Blackwater and flung over the bridges 
by a disorderly force called "the Catholic army." 

After the first shock of the revolt, England had to 
steady herself; for she was in a death-struggle with 
Charles I. which ended with his \>eing beheaded at 
Whitehall. This was the occasion far the native Irish 



CATHOLIC INTRIGUES. 267 

to declare that the Roman Catholic religion should be 
restored to its pristine glory; while the Ulster Protest 
tants withstood this move and, wherever they dared, 
earnestly subscribed the Solemn League and Covenant 
along with their brethren in England and Scotland. 
Eight years of rebellion and bloodshed and disaster 
brought Cromwell upon the scene. He with his army 
broke the backbone of the rebellion in Ireland and 
returned to England, leaving his work incomplete. At 
the restoration of the Stuarts, the weak and vacillating 
Charles II. of England, as a policy measure, sub- 
scribed the Solemn League and Covenant, acknowl- 
edged the sin of his father in marrying his idolatrous 
Catholic mother and denounced the peace concluded 
with the " bloody Irish." This step enraged the 
priesthood, and they again appeared at the front as 
leaders of the old Irish party. In the meantime, 
Charles II. secretly changed his religion for that of the 
Church of Rome in the face of his oath to adhere to 
the Solemn League and Covenant, and resolved to 
assist the Catholics in Ireland in regaining their 
power. The exiled priesthood came quietly back, and 
Jesuit schools were re-opened. The Protestants were 
alarmed and saw in embryo the bitter struggle that 
was to follow. Protestants and Catholics watched 
each other for five years, the smouldering fire keeping 
all the while its fatal burning. Charles and his brother, 
the Duke of York, a bigoted Catholic, intended re- 
modeling the army to the exclusion of Protestants; 
but before the execution of the plan could be effected, 
Charles died and the Duke of York was proclaimed 
king of Great Britain and Ireland as James II. The 



268 REMINISCENXES. 

new king placed a fanatical Roman Catholic at the 
head of affairs in Ireland and gave him the title of 
the Earl of Tyrconnell, which increased the bitterness 
and suspicion that divided the Protestants and Cath- 
olics. 

At this crisis William Prince of Orange landed in 
England, and James precipitately fled into France. 
The priests knew that William was not in a condition 
to coerce the Irish party at once, and they declared 
for the house of Stuart and exhorted their flocks to be 
ready for an uprising. The Protestant population was 
given up to pillage, and Tyrconnell determined to 
reduce the North to submission before they had time 
to organize. The Protestants retreated, burning the 
bridges after them and finally made a stand behind 
Lough Foyle, and 30,000 persons sought refuge 
within the walls of Londonderry, or Derry, as it is 
familiarly called, that being the ancient name. Tyr- 
connell appealed to France and the exiled Jesuits for 
help. The latter landed in Dublin in March, 1689 
and summoned a Parliament. The first act of this 
Parliament was the passing of an ordinance securing 1 
the independence of Ireland along with the restora- 
tion of King James. The Earl of Tyrconnell began 
to plot with the Catholics as to the best plan to crush 
the Protestants and seat James in Ireland as its Papist 
king. The Protestants of Ulster, as has been noticed 
before, had by thrift and industry changed a wild and 
profitless country into a flourishing seat of trade and 
manufactories, and at this period they had entirely re- 
covered from the massacre of 1641. 

The citizens of Enniskillen and Derry watched with 



SIEGE OF DERRY. 269 

ever increasing anxiety and discrimination the attitude 
of the Irish Government and the temper of the Cath- 
olic element around them, while they energetically 
prepared to defend themselves. The work of Tyr- 
connell in two years placed the army entirely in his 
power. But when he attempted to quarter his Popish 
army in the town of Enniskillen, the brave citizens 
rose and repelled the attempt. Derry at once caught 
the flame and secured its gates against a similar at- 
tempt. As a sort of soothing powder, a Protestant 
garrison was placed in Derry under the command of 
Lieutenant Colonel Lundy, and Enniskillen and the 
Maiden City proclaimed William and Mary as their 
sovereigns and abided the issue with mounted guns 
and unsheathed swords. The Catholic population 
prepared for plunder, and the army under Tyrconnell's 
lead began to reduce the Protestants of Ulster to sub- 
mission. As the terror-stricken inhabitants fled, the 
army desolated the country, and the people took 
refuge within the walls of Derry. Lundy was either 
a coward or a traitor. He therefore pronounced the 
place untenable and counselled submission. But a 
soul-stirring story of heroic bravery and more heroic 
fortitude was yet to unfold, and God raised them up a 
deliverer. Rev. George Walker, an Episcopalian, fled 
to Derry, and in the dismay which followed Lundy's 
defection, inspired the people with bolder resolutions, 
and they stood for their lives. Lundy fled, and Rev. 
George Walker was appointed governor of the city. 
There were thirty thousand people to feed, and provi- 
sions were scarce. By the 30th of April the city was 
invested by Tyrconnell's army, and the bombardment 



270 REMINISCENCES. 

of the city at once began. Apparently the city of 
Deny was an easy prey, as it is situated upon the 
slope of a high hill facing the river Foyle. The be- 
leagured city had but twenty cannon; but they had 
brave and resolute men to man their guns and brave 
women to inspire a lofty courage. As the bombard- 
ment proceeded their courage rose, and after six weeks 
of siege and sortie, they held their ground firmer than 
ever, even though the terrible famine looked into their 
gaunt faces. England promised relief; but O! how 
tardy it seemed to a starving people! Hope deferred 
made the heart sick. No friendly ship could sail up 
the river without being exposed to a deadly fire. The 
banks were bristling with the foe and with destruction. 
Across the narrow part of the river from fort to fort 
was a boom of timber joined by iron chains and fast- 
ened on either shore with the strongest cables. Is it 
any wonder the slow torture of despair was beginning 
to creep over the city? 

A cathedral crowns the hill upon which the old part 
of the city is built. At the time of the siege it was 
a prominent object, and the missiles of the enemy 
often fell within the cathedral enclosure. While it was 
a conspicuous mark for the fire of the foe, it was at 
the same time an excellent, though dangerous look-out 
for the besieged and anxious watchers within the city. 
After longing days and weary nights had passed, from 
the top of this cathedral, an English fleet was sighted 
in Lough Foyle, an area of the sea that receives the 
waters of the river Foyle. Signals were exchanged, 
but the fleet lay at anchor unable to proceed farther. 
At length hope began to sink like lead in dark waters; 



FAMINE STRICKEN. 27 1 

provisions were dealt out by ounces and only sufficient 
to sustain life. Fever and dysentery ensued and 
claimed victims by hundreds. Gunpowder was still 
plenty, but cannon balls were entirely exhausted. The 
courage of the resolute men, however, rose to loftier 
daring, inspired by the patriotism of a band of young 
men called "Apprentice Boys," who moulded brickbats 
in molten lead and fired them at the enemy. 

The resistance of the city for such a length of time 
was very humiliating to King James, and at the end 
of two months he issued a proclamation to the effect 
that if the city was not surrendered within a certain 
time, his army would collect all the Protestants within 
thirty miles of the city and starve them to death out- 
side the walls. It was not a vain threat. The aged, 
the children and women with infants in their arms, 
were driven in flocks toward the beleaguered city. 
Many lay down and died by the way, and those who 
were spared to reach the city sat down in the shadow 
of the walls and starved for three days; those inside 
not being able to spare them any food. Such brutal 
treatment called for prompt and decided measures. 
The soldiers of the besieged army erected a gallows 
in sight of the foe and issued a counter proclamation. 
Its burden was death on this gallows to every Catholic 
inside the walls, if their friends were not allowed to 
return to their homes at once. The threat had the 
desired effect, and the famishing crowd outside the 
walls quickly melted away. 

The famine in the city was terribly severe. Horse- 
flesh and dog-flesh were fast failing, but still this 
noble band encouraged themselves in the God of 



272 REMINISCENCES. 

battles. Meanwhile the siege went on, and batteries 
were planted nearer and nearer the brave city. It was 
now the last of July, 1689. Rev. George Walker 
preached on the Sabbath and earnestly exhorted his 
hearers to persevere, because God in his own time 
would hear their cry and grant them deliverance. 
Soon after from the outlook on the top of the cathe- 
dral the watchers descried a movement in the Lough. 
In a few moments more they saw three vessels parting 
the waters and steering for the mouth of the Foyle. 
The forts of the foe guarding each side of the river, 
opened their guns, and the fire was fiercely returned 
by the fast speeding vessels. "They are within a 
mile of the boom and not a shot from the foe has 
turned them from their purpose," rang from the top 
of the cathedral over the trembling city, and hope 
revived. A few moments more and word from the 
same point sped like an arrow, and from lip to lip the 
joyous tones rang out, proclaiming, "The foremost 
vessel is the Mountjoy of Deny." On and on she 
came and proudly and fearlessly dashed at the boom. 
It snapped asunder at the shock and drifted in the 
current; but the reflex action drove the gallant vessel 
ashore, and she lay helpless on her beam ends. With 
blanched faces, with quivering lips and throbbing 
hearts the famishing city watched as the moments 
flew, and hope and despair alternated in the intense 
anxiety. The next vessel followed in quick succes- 
sion, and at the opportune moment fired a broadside. 
The Mountjoy righted herself, and the three vessels 
passed in safety and struck out for the landing. "We 
are saved! W r e are saved!" went up from the hillside 



THE WAR ENDED. 273 

with a shout and was prolonged in deafening peals, as 
the vessels discharged their cargo of provisions. That 
night the wasted garrison within the walls of Derry 
fed on something better than a pitiful allowance of 
oatmeal and horse-flesh. 

The next evening, at night-fall, the foe was sullenly 
retreating, after continuing the siege one hundred and 
five days. As the sun of August 1st gleamed on the 
waters of Lough Foyle, the army of James, a mix- 
ture of French and Irish Celts, was marching away on 
the road to Strabane, with a loss of eight thousand 
soldiers. The horrors of such a civil war can scarcely 
be imagined, nor can the blessings of peace be over- 
estimated. 

The cathedral is still in existence and is a well-pre- 
served and handsome piece of ancient architecture. 
It is an object of great interest, as it stands surrounded 
with a densely packed city of the dead. Very many 
of these died in the siege and in the straitness to 
which they were reduced. Forty of the brave defen- 
ders of Derry lie in one spot. A high green mound 
of earth, crowned with a monument, tells to each 
generation what the sleepers fought and died for. 
They are dead, but they speak. Their dauntless valor 
and patient perseverance saved the Protestant cause in 
the fierce struggle against the despotic house of 
Stuart and the Church of Rome. They tell us too, 
the battle will have to be fought again. The old spirit 
is there still, and none know better than the Ulster 
Protestants what that spirit is. 

An avenue angles from one of the principal streets 
and leads to the cathedral gate. This avenue on one 



274 REMINISCENCES. 

side is studded with comfortable homes closely set and 
without dooryards. An intelligent lady stood in the 
door of one of these houses as we passed and seemed 
to invite exchange of words. Our queries were con- 
cerning the siege; but before she replied she drew 
near to us and lowered her voice lest a Catholic 
neighbor two doors away should hear her. She said 
the Catholics were watching with intense interest the 
slightest move on the political chess-board. 

The walls of Derry, such an impregnable defense at 
that time, remain as they were, bristling with heavy 
guns in close embrasure all around the ancient part of 
the city. They are now an agreeable promenade and 
verify the thrilling story so deeply interesting. A 
triumphal arch was erected in 1789 to commemorate 
the event. A tall and handsome monument has been 
placed near the wall to the memory of Rev. George 
Walker, Governor of the city during the siege, while 
opposite stands the Memorial Hall of the Apprentice 
Boys who were an important factor in the defense. 

The hill upon which Derry is situated commands a 
large scope of country that gives evidence of thrift 
and comfort. There is here, as elsewhere, a new city, 
with beauty all around. In this new part Magee 
College is a prominent object, while up and down the 
Foyle are handsome homes with beautiful lawns and 
grand old trees, showing the taste and easy living of 
the owners. Would that all Ireland could see as the 
North does, that industry and enterprise and the fear 
of God will emancipate them, and that a disposition to 
abandon the old rebellious feeling would enlist the 
sympathies of the British Government to open up in- 



DOWN THE LOUGH. 275 

dustries for the people and give them heart to work ! 
The development of some vigorous industries to de- 
stroy Satan's workshop would settle the Irish question. 

The evening of Sept. ioth we left Derry, happier 
and wiser for realizing in some measure the perils and 
the privations of the siege of 1689 and the importance 
of the crisis that was upon the Protestant religious 
element of all Ireland. The rain fell in fits and gusts 
upon a pleasing landscape, as the train moved on over 
a level plain toward Castle Rock. There were glimpses 
of the restless sea on one side, with occasional broad 
stretches of bay and inlet, and on the other side farms 
and dwellings, with frequent views of bold headlands 
of brown, ragged rock, over which the rain was send- 
ing in a succession of leaps and dashes many a foam- 
ing waterfall. There were pleasant traveling compan- 
ions inside the car, which made a sunny atmosphere 
there, even though the sun in the heavens had been 
hidden for days. 

Castle Rock is a watering place out on the lip of the 
sea. The great waves roll up to the very door-yards 
of the boarding-houses. It is a modest, comely spot, 
as winning as the fair and rosy Irish maidens we fre- 
quently met. Two such maidens were in our car 
and listened with rapt attention to descriptions of 
America. When we selected our lodging place for 
the night, one of these young ladies, to our surprise, 
answered the bell and met us at the door with a kindly 
smile of welcome, and we felt quite at home. The 
season was over and the boarders were all gone, but 
the moaning sea was still there, and at night from our 
bed-room window, we gazed long upon its white-cap- 



276 REMINISCENCES. 

ped surface, as it wrought in the fury of a storm, the 
moan having increased almost to a shriek. In the 
morning the storm was spent, the rain had ceased, the 
sky was brighter, and while breakfast was preparing, 
we ran down to the beach and stood out upon the 
rocks lost in admiration. There were kind friends 
here whom we visited and from whom we learned 
more of the hospitable intent of the people. As our 
train was to leave soon, there were handsome flowers 
given us by this family and many kindly greetings ex- 
pressed to friends in America. 

Coleraine upon the historic Bann claimed a few 
hours as we journeyed south. This city, four miles 
from the sea, is a pleasant and thriving place, celebrat- 
ed for the manufacture of fine linens. The river Bann 
is navigable for small vessels to this place, and its 
business interests seemed quite lively. Here, too, we 
found a most genial home. Friends in America were 
our passport to its kindly welcome. A cup of steaming 
tea and accompaniments sealed the friendly compact 
and made hostess and guests as garrulous as if we had 
jogged along together for years. In this instance there 
was no ice to be broken nor chill to be removed; all 
was warmth and freshness at the beginning, and when 
our good-byes were made, we caught up the glow and 
carried it with us. 

Soon our faces were turned farther southward to- 
ward Dublin, the capital city, and across the river 
Boyne, famous as the scene of the battle between 
Willian Prince of Orange and James II. In June, 1690 
the Prince landed at Carrickfergus and took supreme 
command of the Protestant army. His strict discipline 



DISCONTENT. 277 

and unselfish example restored order and enthusiasm 
to his troops, and he marched southward and occupied 
the northern bank of the Boyne, where he was con- 
fronted with James' army on the opposite side of the 
river. Here James was defeated, and the fate of 
Ireland and the Stuart kings was decided in an Irish 
Armageddon. The pusillanimous James fled to Dub- 
lin early in the day. He who had the infamous 
courage in earlier days to gloat over the bruised and 
crushed Covenanters in Scotland, took good care 
never to expose his cowardly head in battle. An 
obelisk one hundred and fifty feet high marks the 
scene of the engagement. 

The state of the country at the close of the war was 
indescribably wretched. It had been desolated from 
end to end by the opposing armies. It had been im- 
possible to sow the land. The herds had been de- 
stroyed, and the people were on the verge of famine. 
The Protestants and the English government had 
suffered so much in gaining the ascendancy that for 
self-protection they held the reins of government with 
an ever tightening grasp. The lawlessness of the 
period made such a course imperative. During much 
of the eighteenth century the Irish party was rent by 
factions. There was always a reserve force in the 
native Irish Celts, the Roman Catholics, that was 
sullen, muttering and menacing. The priests held 
them in bondage. They were naturally a religious 
people, but ignorant, superstitious, degraded and 
poverty-stricken. The more the priests were pro- 
scribed by Parliament and the more sternly they were 
forbidden to enter the Island from the Continent, the 



278 REMINISCENCES. 

more they swarmed to the Island as a sort of penance 
for their evil deeds — a courting of persecution for 
reward, or as so much laid up against purgatory. 
These poor people grew stronger in their attachment 
to the priests and to a religion that permitted them to 
remain in hopeless ignorance and that pandered to 
their legends and superstitions. Very different was it 
with the Celts in the Highlands of Scotland. They 
too, rebelled and for a time lived in almost savage dis- 
content, and as a correspondent says, "the ambassadors 
of the gospel had to deal with warlike people, wild in 
sin and delusion." But God gave to them seeing eyes 
and hearing ears and understanding hearts, and at this 
writing the Scottish Celt is the truest conservator of a 
pure religion in the larger Churches in all Scotland. 

For seventy years after the battle of the Boyne, the 
Irish Celt rested in apparent stupor, and there were no 
outward signs of a rising; but the bitterness and the 
heart-burnings were there. To their condition they 
never assimilated. When George III. came to the 
throne, a loyal address was presented by the Roman 
Catholics. It was well received, and the Catholics 
lifted up their heads, and forthwith the country was 
infested with an ill-begotten crop of secret societies. 
There were the Oak-Boys and the Hearts-of-Steel- 
Boys and the White-Boys and what not. The Hearts- 
of-Steel-Bcys made war on the landlords. These 
landowners would not live in Ireland; but they held 
the land, and the tenants were at the tender mercies 
of the rent-collector. The White-Boys swore ven- 
geance against these middle-men and raided the 
southern counties, pulling down fences and meting 



SECRET SOCIETIES. 279 

out destruction; while the Oak-Boys were sworn to 
redress all grievances. Riot and idleness was the 
result. The secret societies so hopelessly interwoven 
with our own political fabric are of the same slimy 
fold. They are the force that moves our political 
machine. They know no God in Christ, and the 
spirit of resistance is in them as strong as in the 
Irish, if occasion should call it forth. But the saddest 
feature is, that the Church at large bows to this 
Moloch, greedy to share its worldly honors. 



280 REMINISCENCES. 



XVII. 

There is a time to sow and a time to reap that 
which is sown. If we sow the wind, we shall reap the 
whirlwind. If we sow good seed it possibly will 
bring forth a hundred-fold. George III. indulged in 
some wild sowing. He was an adept in cool dissimu- 
lation, indolent and obstinate; very liable to mistake 
wrong for right and then, sullen and immovable in his 
positions. The causes that led to the war with the 
American colonies furnish an example of his cast of 
mind. George III. pursued as perverse a course 
toward Ireland as he did toward America. He starved 
her industries, destroyed her trade and otherwise 
disregarded her interests. Meanwhile the French 
Revolution thoroughly alarmed the king with the 
danger of arousing democratic principles, and with 
good reason; for at this time Lord Edward Fitzger- 
ald, an Irish nobleman, and a member of the Irish 
Parliament, plunged himself into a dark conspiracy 
for the overthrow of the English government. A 
French fleet sailed for the coast of Munster; but a 
furious gale sprang up, and the fleet was swept out to 
sea and ruined. 

The government in Ireland was panic-stricken at 
the prospect of an insurrection with all its fearful rav- 






UNION WITH ENGLAND. 28 I 

ages. When the year 1798 approached, there were 
risings almost all over the country. The Roman 
Catholics were pitted against the Protestants, and 
bloodshed and terror hung like a dreary, impenetrable 
curtain over the Island. The condition of the country 
at the beginning of 1799 was still more deplorable. 
Trade was ruined, credit was shattered, and the whole 
of Ireland was practically in a state of siege. 

Wiliam Pitt, then Prime Minister of England, had 
long had his heart set upon a legislative union of the 
two kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. Ireland 
was in such a condition of lawlessness and unrest that 
the time seemed opportune for its accomplishment as 
the only safe measure for the country. In some parts 
of Ireland the idea of union was well received; but in 
Dublin the opposition was strong. Sir John Parnell, 
Chancellor of the Exchequer, denounced any such 
movement, and he was promptly dismissed from office. 
The government in England struck where it was able 
and struck vigorously. In the first encounter in the 
Irish Commons the union party was beaten ; but the 
union grew in favor, and in January 1800, the Irish 
Parliament met for the last time. The United King- 
dom hereafter was to be represented in one Parliament, 
to meet in London. 

Had Ireland in the South shook herself free from 
priestcraft and priestly rule when the American Colo- 
nies were struggling for their independence, she would 
have been as happy and as prosperous and as loyal 
to-day as Ireland in the North. That there are wrongs 
to be righted all freely admit. The British Govern- 
ment is not perfect; but let every one put a shoulder 



282 REMINISCENCES. 

to the wheel and lift in harmony, and the burden will 
melt away in the industries that will spring up and in 
the prosperity that will ensue. The dreary Irish 
question will then be settled, and the quaint old Castle 
and Parliament House in Dublin will be preserved and 
cherished as antiquities of the nation. They mark 
her progress. Such sowing would bear good fruit, 
while the quarrelling, the dictation of the priests and 
the longing for the unattainable will bring forth naught 
but the worthless chaff that changes position with 
every breath. 

We were greatly interested in what we saw when 
we arrived in Dublin in the forenoon of September 1 3. 
The fame of the capital city as a place of great beauty 
had fixed itself long ago, and we were not quite pre- 
pared for the decay and even sadness that prevailed. 
Coming from Belfast to Dublin, the vigor of the one 
made its absence in the other more apparent, no 
doubt. In the nature of things, there ought to be the 
marks of maturity and even, perhaps, of old age; but 
Dublin ought not to have reached the height of its 
possibilities at this stage, nor do we think it has. 
When the people have a mind to work and a mind to 
accept the situation, she will rise triumphantly of her 
own free will and vie with other cities in putting on 
beautiful garments. Dublin, however, is very inter- 
esting and storied as it is. There are also many marks 
of nobility upon the outlook. But the date of its 
prosperity is away in the past, and the shadow of a 
great sorrow seems to hang over the city. And why 
all this? There is much here that is very lovely. 
Phcenix Park is a beautiful spot, ample in extent and 



WHAT IS NEEDED. 283 

containing one of the handsomest national historical 
monuments we had seen. As we saw it, there were 
many things that should arouse the people from appa- 
rent slothfulness. 

Coming in from Phoenix Park, explanations began 
to dawn upon us. We met six Catholic priests in a 
body, marching two and two. They were fat-fleshed 
and pompous. They symbolized the suction that is 
draining the life of the Catholic part of the Island. 
Pitiful indeed is the prospect, so long as this section 
submits to the check-rein of such leaders. The citizens 
of the flourishing North of Ireland were at pains to 
tell us that they deprecated Home Rule and looked to 
England with longing eyes as the conservator of their 
weal. The key to the situation is not the old and 
worn-out cry of Home Rule that only feeds the dema- 
gogue. All will be changed by such development as 
will give the masses here education and commercial 
growth, thus dispelling their sorrows in the new and 
absorbing life consequent upon such a state of things. 
Late developments prove that Home Rule, were it to 
prevail, would vanish in a quarrel. The people are 
the victims of schemes. They are helpless in the 
hands of unscrupulous agitators. A strong race would 
react against these circumstances in the way of their 
development, and they would not be held down. The 
very difficulties they encounter would make them 
stronger at every step. But a weak people stagnate 
and sink down in discontent, easily becoming the tool 
of politicians. 

The old Parliament House and Dublin Castle are 
ancient and interesting landmarks. The former is now 



284 REMINISCENCES. 

the Bank of Ireland. It is massive and chaste in de- 
sign. The Castle is used as a residence for the officers 
of the English Government and is quite plain in 
appearance. Dublin, in Celtic Dubh-linn, meaning a 
black pool, is situated on the river Liffey where it 
flows into Dublin Bay. It is not a manufacturing 
center. People go there to spend money, not to make 
it. It could be made a very handsome city — and 
doubtless was such in happier days. 

Our next adventure was in the city of Cork, an- 
ciently spelled Corrock, a Celtic word for swamp. 
After passing the beautiful environs of Dublin, our 
route lay through a wasted country — wasted in its 
full significance — wasted because its capabilities are 
undeveloped. Time is wasted when it is permitted to 
fly without being occupied. Goods are wasted when 
they are left to mould and become moth-eaten, and 
food is wasted when left alone to ferment or to become 
rancid. Such wasting applies to this region. Prodigal 
living and lavish expenditure are a wasting process 
both morally and financially; but this feature does not 
enter into the aspect here. Thrift and enterprise have 
not yet entered this region. Thrift and enterprise are 
noble qualities when the motive is noble. If one 
practices economics and by it saves money to prevent 
being burdensome to others in sickness or old age, 
saves that all obligations may be discharged, saves, 
even from self-gratification, to have something to give 
to the poor and needy, the motive is noble. God 
will in some way or other bless it. Such thrift and 
enterprise are the kernel of all genuine prosperity, 
exalting the character and making life a blessing in its 



WANT OF THRIFT. 285 

true significance, because of the divine approval. 

The important lesson to be learned by this part of 
Ireland is the dignity of labor for specific ends, for the 
purpose of opportunity to rise above its present 
level. The women must do more, much more, than 
sit in their doorways smoking their pipes and gossip- 
ing. They must keep the pigs from the doorstep, the 
chickens away from the fireside and the geese from 
the pool at the back door. What a shaking up and 
around and sidewise they do need! As we saw them 
they were fat and sonsie under such a regime. Their 
frilled caps and blue cloaks were never wanting, and a 
low grade of enjoyment they seemed to possess in full 
measure. But their vision of thrift and success seemed 
to extend no farther than the potato patch and a small 
field having for its principal crop thistles and stones 
and its incumbent a couple of sheep, perchance a cow, 
while the pigs and the geese clustered variously, but 
oftenest in the doorways. Marks of evicted tenants 
added to the dreariness of the scene. The thatch of 
the bleak cottages hung in tatters, the windows were 
gone and desolation was sinking into ruin. 

Many a thrifty woman of to-day could take any one 
of these same unkempt houses and holdings and make 
it blossom as the rose. She could do it and leave the 
other sex out of the question. She would pick the 
stones out of the field and fit it for bearing grain. She 
would tether the cow and the sheep and feed them in 
a corner. She would kill and eat the geese and banish 
the pig to a stye. Even the chickens could be taught 
orderly habits, so that cleanliness might thrive, and all 
the available patches of earth bring forth abundantly 



286 REMINISCENCES. 

for the use of man. When such thrift prevails, the 
landlord's pittance, which is just a tax for the right to 
live and enjoy life on what he rightfully owns, will be 
counted on and paid. A friend visited Europe re- 
cently. He was gazing at the low thatched cottages 
on the west coast of Ireland in company with a bright 
Irish girl from New York who was returning to visit 
her native land. Our friend said, " The houses over 
yonder on the hills appear to be constructed so that 
dwelling-house and cow-house are under one roof." 
"Aye," said she, "and the gintleman in the corner to 
pay the rint." She meant the pig by the "gintleman 
in the corner," which is often kept in a corner of the 
room and frequently sold to pay the rent. 

Where such thriftlessness as we saw prevails, the 
landowner is to be pitied. Many of the landowners 
are ruined and cannot get the most meagre support 
from lands upon which they are dependent for their 
daily bread. In some cases ladies of high birth have 
no other income than some Irish estate manned with 
thriftless tenants, who will neither pay a tax for the 
right a home on it nor peaceably leave for another 
occupant. It is Roman Catholic life as exhibited in 
the South of Ireland. It is careless, narrow and im- 
provident. The pigs and the geese, and the dirty, 
laughing and frolicking children are in the foreground, 
and the mothers take up plenty of time to sport with 
all these grades of animal life. 

The landscape is for the most part bare and sad. 
There are long, black tracts of desolate bog, and 
where the peat has been removed, the water has filled 
the space, its dark, silent depth augmenting the loneli- 



THE BLARNEY STONE. 287 

ness. We do not forget to mention some charming 
pictures. There were mountains and a sweep of hills 
and silver streams and here and there well kept farms. 
In such places there were flourishing crops and green 
pasture fields; but such pictures were the exception. 
Sometimes we came upon a ruined Castle overlooking 
a bright stream of water, and here and there a curi- 
ously wrought round tower, so ancient that the date 
and purpose can only be conjectured. 

As we neared the city of Cork we greeted the little 
village of Blarney. It has a Castle erected in 1449 
by Cormac McCarty. Near the Castle are the groves 
of Blarney, and on the summit of the Castle tower is 
the Blarney stone, the kissing of which is irresistibly 
potent in flattering one out of his wits. The true 
stone is under the parapet and can only be kissed by 
the applicant of that kind for favors being held by the 
heels and thumped against the wall. We did not 
want to rob Ireland of a full cup of that kind of virtue; 
so we were content with looking at it; and if, per- 
chance, a stray shot of the commodity should strike 
us, we could absorb it without so much fatigue. 

The city of Cork suggests "Paddy from Cork;" and 
"The tip of the morning to you, sir," sits easily and 
naturally upon those who court patronage. The 
coachman presented his case and his moving appli- 
ance, a bit of a Tom Thumb swinging machine 
suspended over four .low wheels, to which entrance 
was furnished at the farther end. It held but two; and 
away we inmates clattered over the stony street, while 
"the tip of the morning" was left to sound for other 
comers. In spite of a certain air of squalor, the 



288 REMINISCENCES. 

sadness felt in Dublin did not appear here. It may be, 
expectancy played its part. We expected little and 
were not disappointed. The city is finely situated 
upon the slope of a hill commanding a beautiful undu- 
lating country, though the older part of the city lies 
upon a reclaimed swamp. It has an excellent harbor 
and the best of opportunities for trade. There is a 
park lined with grand old elms and here in Cork 
"Shandon Bells" ring out their silver music. 

Still the pattern is very sombre, indeed very dark. 
There are four monasteries, two nunneries, a fine 
bishop's palace and a Catholic cathedral. Five sixths 
of the population are Roman Catholics, and drinking 
and brewing seem to be the prevailing industry. In 
the middle of one of the principal streets there is a 
monument erected to Father Matthew, the Catholic 
apostle of temperance, which is quite opportune, as 
otherwise we could hardly have guessed he had any 
devotees in this place. 

September 16th we were to sail from Queenstown, 
and we arrived at this point the day before. Queens- 
town has a high-sounding name, and its situation is 
one of exceeding beauty. It half encircles a lovely 
bay, so calm it only glanced in the sunlight. Ships 
ride there in almost perfect safety. The city rises 
from the expanse of water, terrace after terrace, and 
makes a magnificent birds-eye picture. But it is one 
of the things to which distance lends enchantment. 
Such squalor and wretchedness and slipshodism we 
had not seen anywhere. Contentment sat upon the 
faces of women and children and men who together, 
were reeking in filth and almost every discomfort. 



A DISAPPOINTMENT. 289 

Their wretched dwellings or hovels were planted like 
pigeon holes along range after range of terraces that 
served as a contrasting border, or may be, a back 
door yard for a grand and imposing Catholic church 
in marble and statuary that crowned the hill. The 
cathedral is still incomplete, but of costly workman- 
ship. The builders are looking to America for the 
means to complete it, and it will doubtless absorb 
many thousands of our money. There was the key 
to the situation. As Israel under the lead of the 
vacillating Aaron, when they despoiled themselves of 
their jewelry and adornments, and, simple and forget- 
ful, danced around a golden calf, so these untutored 
people give of their earnings, almost to starvation, 
certainly in stupidity, to mount a glittering idol where 
they can see it and feast their dull eyes upon it, thus 
neglecting their household duties as Jewish maidens 
and matrons did when they capered around their idol. 
When we alighted from the car, a rather decent 
looking young man accosted us who was a runner for 
a hotel. After we had disentangled ourselves from the 
swarm of beggars and other hotel runners, we decided 
to follow the first named youth, for which he seemed 
quite grateful. His tongue was apparently pivoted in 
the middle and so loosely hung, it operated all around; 
and as we moved along by the side of our guide, he 
discoursed on a number of topics. At length he, with 
an eye to business, gave us some masterful passages 
on the beauty of the unfinished church, saying with 
apparent innocence that Queenstown expected Amer- 
ican visitors to furnish most of the money for the 
completion of the grand structure. We did not 
19 



29O REMINISCENCES. 

respond as he hoped, but we said with emphasis, 
"That's what's the matter with you. You build these 
fine churches and starve in idleness and expect others 
to help you out." He collapsed, and his tongue did 
not move again till we reached our hotel. 

We felt humiliated when we thought of being on 
the spur mistaken for the kind of travelers this hotel 
wanted. Its principal guest was a Rev. Mother Supe- 
rior from San Francisco, Cal. She was fat, fair and 
beyond forty, with a long, pretentious dangle of keys 
and beads and a large cross. She was to be a passen- 
ger on our vessel, the "Egypt," which was to sail on 
the morrow, and, therefore, received all the attention 
the house could spare; at least it was all spent before 
it reached us. The room assigned us was a wilderness 
of disorder, and we had to parade the streets until it 
was tidied. We endeavored to satisfy our hunger at 
what appeared to be the second table, consoling our- 
selves with the idea that there would be but one night 
of it. 



A REVIEW. 291 



XVIII. 

We had now seen the Englishman in his home, the 
Scotchman at his "ingleside" and the Irishman in his 
castle. We found much in them all to admire and be 
proud of; for we are all of one blood. Each of these 
centers or nationalities has adapted itself to new con- 
ditions or environments, and we have done the same. 
I mean that these peoples, although one in heredity 
and having many characteristics in common, in other 
traits of character are very unlike, having been 
operated upon by influences that arose out of their 
different conditions. Heredity produces the charac- 
teristics of the past and always leaves a margin for 
adaptation to new physical and moral conditions. The 
sunshine, the winds, the climate, the wealth or poverty 
of the soil, the struggles for civil and religious liberty, 
indeed all things external with which a people come 
in contact are moulding and chiseling the forms of 
existence into new ones, or modifying the old ones. 
We see this principle at work in members of the same 
family when separated far from each other. 

The Scotch have a scant soil and a bleak climate, 
and yet no other country has so interwoven in its 
history the charms of poetry, philosophy and science, 
nor so firmly fixed them upon the one enduring span 



292 REMINISCENCES. 

of Christ's Crown and Covenant. Her history is sub- 
lime and thrilling, and will be so as long as she keeps 
fast by the word of God. That alone makes a nation 
sublime. Ireland, once a stronghold of Christianity 
and learning and a peer among the nations, is crushed 
between the upper and nether millstones of opposing 
parties. Healthy efforts on the part of the North 
show themselves like bright beams of sunshine in a 
clouded sky. But the elimination of the Catholic 
clergy from Irish politics is the only hope of peace 
and prosperity for the whole of Ireland. Otherwise 
the old fetid quarrels will be forever looming up to 
destroy the best hopes for her. 

We are accustomed to think England is old. But 
she retains all the vigor and vitality of youth. Age is 
a relative term. Some things develop slowly and live 
long. "The growth of things excellent is slow." 
Men of age and experience and ripe judgment bear 
the weight of empire, and the younger men bide their 
time patiently. The British Empire has hardly reached 
its prime, although a thousand and half a thousand 
years ago her ships went forth to conquer the races of 
the Northern Sea. To-day the British Empire is 
mistress of the oceans, and the sun never sets upon 
her possessions. These islands are indeed "precious 
stones set in the silver sea." We have the most ear- 
nest wish that they should keep up a standard for a 
pure religion resting upon the only solid foundation 
stone, the only precious stone and building the silver 
and the gold, not wood, hay and stubble that will not 
survive the fire. Proud church buildings, the great 
and the small organs, priestly robes and stately step- 



TO SEA AGAIN. 293 

pings, and even great learning and research, are simply 
nothing in God's sight. Nay, they arc less than 
nothing and vanity. They never feed a hungry soul, 
nor clothe it with the garments of praise. But they 
do excite the nervous system and stimulate it to 
unhealthy action. They also delude and eventually 
destroy. 

On Friday at I p. m. we sailed away from the har- 
bor to reach the "Egypt" standing out to sea. The 
tender bore away a motley crowd from this point; 
men, women and children in many stages of poverty. 
When all were on board, our handsome, well-ordered 
vessel was responsible for eleven hundred and thirty- 
four souls. 

We were again upon the sea, upon the waste of 
ocean that rolled between us and our own land, and 
we entered upon its enjoyment. Away we tossed, at 
times skimming like a bird, a very feather on the sur- 
face of old ocean. The sun had dropped its fierceness. 
The asmosphere was of a brilliant blue. There was 
but little toying of the wind, just enough to delicately 
ripple the water; and not a cloud in the sky; no, not 
even so much as a shred of vapor; not even one the 
size of a man's hand. Following us was a long line 
of water, glancing astern like shimmering white satin, 
and the steamer moved stately and resplendent. We 
greatly enjoyed the sweet, cool freshness of the salt air 
breathing upon the face of the waters and its briliancy 
as it sparkled under the sun, while we watched the 
receding coast-line in its many forms and colors and 
bade all our journeyings in these lands a fond farewell. 

Days and nights came and went upon the deep and 



294 REMINISCENCES. 

left a mark somewhere. To some of us, perhaps, the 
record is only on the pages of eternity. In no other 
condition did eternity seem so near, so real, such a 
tangible thing. A momentary mishap, and we are at the 
door of another world. On the Sabbath at eight A. M. 
we were all startled by the sudden stop of the ponder- 
ous machinery. The vessel ceased its throb without a 
flicker or note of warning. For seven hours we 
drifted helplessly before the wind. Consternation was 
in many faces; for we could hear the omii^ous sound 
of hammers and axes below. The officers of the vessel 
were non-committal as to the real trouble, and the day 
wore away with forebodings. We had a sermon at 
ten A. M., and the rest of the day we kept the Sab- 
bath in our room. 

In the afternoon, when life began to circulate again 
in the great engines, we noticed that its pulsations 
were slower and the throbs had a labored sound, as if 
every one was to be the last. 

But the morning dawned, and the strange, irregular 
pounding of the machinery called forth no more re- 
marks. The weather was fine, the sea was beautiful 
and of a green-glass, clear color, glancing in the sun- 
light. At times the horizon was broken by the outlines 
of a steamer advancing majestically, but it disappeared 
with only a friendly salute. 

Sometimes at night there was a magnificent display 
of those peculiar electric conditions of the atmosphere 
that made each wave as it bounded away from the 
bow of the vessel a broad glare of flame, as bright as 
consuming fire. The pathway astern was a long, 
broad belt of rolling, tumbling, seething flame emitted 



STARTLING ANNOUNCEMENT. 295 

from the screw of the steamer and streaming out to 
the line of water and sky. All over the ocean the 
crest of each wave as it rose burst out into flame. It 
was a grand spectacle not to be forgotten. 

Friday morning, September 23, the sea was very 
tempestuous and our staunch vessel rolled consider- 
ably. The waves lashed against the port-holes and 
we were in a dense fog, moving very carefully. After 
breakfast, Captain Sumner assembled all the cabin 
passengers in the dining hall and announced that the 
immense shaft that operated the steamer's screw was 
badly cracked, and the vessel was, therefore, in such a 
disabled condition that it was not safe in view of pos- 
sible stormy weather to attempt to proceed to New 
York. He, therefore, had been steering for the nearest 
port, St. John's, Newfoundland, for two days previous, 
where the damage to the steamer could be repaired. 
He farther stated that the coast of Newfoundland was 
very foggy and the mouth of the harbor at St. John's 
difficult to find, and if he could not find it, the only 
thing that could be done was to proceed to New York. 

The words fell like thunderbolts. Faces blanched 
and lips quivered, and after a few moments' silence, 
the situation was discussed in subdued tones. We 
committed ourselves anew to Him who commands the 
winds and the waves, who feeds the ravens when they 
cry and lets not one sparrow fall without his care. All 
day long the doleful fog-horn sounded, and as night 
approached the vessel ceased her pounding, and we 
were again drifting on the billows, while the click, click 
of several hammers reached us from below. Wild 
stories of shipwreck and disaster began to circulate. 



296 REMINISCENCES. 

They came from intelligent men, navigators who were 
on board and professed to know just where we were, 
and where lay dangerous rocks and reefs. Perhaps 
they did know; for their faces were full of dismay as 
they pointed out our position on their charts. 

For two hours we drifted at the mercy of the waves 
in a fog so dense we could see it creeping around us, 
when we were again assembled and the captain an- 
nounced the impossibility of finding the harbor. He 
said the machinery had undergone a thorough exam- 
ination, and after consultation, they had decided to sail 
for New York. Late at night we took refuge in our 
stateroom and went to sleep. "The angel of the Lord 
encampeth round about them that fear him and deliv- 
ereth them." The next day was Saturday, and in the 
morning at breakfast the peculiar quivering motion of 
the vessel ceased, and again we drifted in impenetrable 
fog. The day wore away, and the captain would not 
be interviewed. Passengers often gathered closely in 
groups and talked with anxious faces. 

In the evening we were again called together, and a 
messenger from the captain announced the following 
to eager listeners: "We are now ready to move and 
can safely make New York." When the moon rose 
we were astonished to find it on the wrong side of the 
vessel. No more announcements were made, and we 
went to sleep that night conscious that we were rocked 
on the same dangerous coast of water that carried us 
the night before. We talked over the peril, and the 
thought took possession with wonderful power, The 
important thing is to be ready, with oil in our vessels 
and our lamps trimmed and burning. When morning 



A NARROW ESCAPE. 297 

dawned, we were helpless on the ocean. No one, not 
even the captain, knew where we were, in the most 
dismal of fogs — a fog that could be felt. It crept over 
the vessel, so that objects at the farther end of the 
ship could only be dimly outlined. The fog-horn 
grew almost sepulchral in tone that Sabbath morning 
and sounded every few seconds. By and by it seemed 
to be answered and faces brightened. But listeners 
caught the sound of breakers and hope became 
fainter. God was giving us a display of his care and 
kindness and compelling the gay and flippant crowd 
to keep the Sabbath better than it would otherwise 
have been done and making them willing in some cases 
to learn its lessons. 

At ten A. M. the fog lifted sufficiently to show us 
our peril. We were in a small bay or nook of the 
ocean bounded by tall, perpendicular rocks perhaps 
two hundred feet high, and our disabled vessel, that 
could not reverse its wheel because of its condition, 
was but a few feet from the rocks. The echo from 
these rocks had been the answer to our fog-horn, and 
the breakers were dashing against this riven, rock- 
bound shore. The vessel was turned slowly out of its 
dangerous position and kept along the coast. At 
three P. M. a government pilot came on board and 
with him came relief to the weary, waiting passengers. 
We moved very cautiously; for the fog had again 
settled upon us, obscuring everything but occasional 
glimpses of dark, towering, dripping coast-line. At 
five P. M., while most of us were crowded on the 
upper deck expectant and hopeful, the deep, heavy fog 
parted from the sea and ascended like a curtain, 



298 REMINISCENCES. 

leaving a line of amber beneath. The cloud canopy 
rolled on and up, revealing the mouth of the harbor 
clear and well defined, as if a door had swung open 
upon hinges that were fastened in rocky buttresses two 
hundred feet high, and the city of St. John's — the city 
of our deliverance — rose before us, terrace upon ter- 
race. It was the very haven we desired to see. " Oh ! 
that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and 
for his wonderful works to the children of men." The 
cloudy vestment hung just high enough to let us in as 
we sailed in the narrow channel only five hundred feet 
wide. Great masses of dark, tumbling vapor were 
piled high on the dark, precipitous rocks on each side 
and were a wall unto us. We had cried unto the 
Lord, and we felt that he had heard our cry and 
wrought a great deliverance. These apparently mar- 
velous things impress us. But our lives are full of just 
as wonderful escapes. Every day, every hour, every 
moment of our existence, our frail life trembles in the 
same balance. Scenes of danger make us more con- 
scious of the easy turning of the scale; but it is none 
the less true that a soft breath — a vapor — vibrates it, 
and we drop into eternity. 

The physical features of Newfoundland are interest- 
ing. It is situated near the highway of traffic between 
the Old and the New World and is separated from the 
continent of North America by a strait only twelve 
miles wide. The coast is deeply indented with bays 
and harbors and is everywhere rocky, massive and 
abrupt. In some places the rocks rise to a perpendic- 
ular height of one thousand feet. It was apparently 
heaved out of the sea by some fearful convulsion and 



NEWFOUNDLAND. 



299 



left to cool in an irregular mass. The edges and 
elbows of this mass are fretted and cavernous, and 
against them the sea scolds itself into a frenzy. It 
threatens and howls as the tide lashes the escarpment, 
each rising wave crested with, and bearing in its 
sweep, long stretches of feathery foam. A peculiarity 
of this coast is seen in the great depth of ocean at the 
base of these rocks, so that a shipwreck on the coast 
is usually most fatal. There are also a great number 
of islands and groups of islets and rocks, the latter 
scarcely seen above water, thus rendering navigation 
along the coast difficult and dangerous. 

Newfoundland is the oldest English colonial posses- 
sion. The Government is representative and consists 
of a Governor and Legislative Council appointed by 
the crown, and a House of Assembly elected by the 
people every four years from seventeen electoral dis- 
tricts. The inhabitants are almost entirely of British 
origin, the native Indians having entirely disappeared. 
The last one disappeared in 1823. The climate is so 
modified by the ocean that it is cooler in summer and 
milder in winter than the same latitude on the conti- 
nent. We were told that it is very unusual in St. 
John's for the mercury to fall below zero in winter or 
to rise above eighty in summer. There is, however, 
this discouraging feature, that the coast atmosphere is 
almost always damp and foggy, caused by the meeting 
and intermingling of the cold Arctic current with the 
warm Gulf Stream. In February and the spring 
months great quantities of icebergs drift along the 
east coast, producing a chilling atmosphere; but they 
come laden with myriads of seals, and it is one of the 



300 REMINISCENCES. 

chief industries to capture them and prepare their fur 
for market. 

What are known as the Banks of Newfoundland lie 
southeast of Cape Race, the most southern point of 
the Island. They are rocky, submarine platforms 
with a depth of water varying from one hundred and 
twenty feet to over five hundred, and many hundred 
miles in length. These banks, three distinct ones in 
number, are the natural homes of cold-water fish, 
especially the cod. Codfish are more abundant here 
than in any other place on the globe. 

The city of St. John's has a population of 30,000. 
Its principal thoroughfares are semicircular, shaping 
themselves in harmony with the frontage of the harbor. 
The city is decidedly a British child, neat, but in sub- 
stantial rather than costly dress. Our influx came as 
a sort of raid upon the city. The citizens were taken 
by surprise; there was no time to exhibit themselves 
in gala dress, but those we met were very genteel and 
exerted themselves not only to welcome us, but to 
make us believe this was the garden spot of the earth. 
Had it not been for the fog that enveloped every 
living and inanimate thing, we might have been 
coaxed into at least a partial acceptance of the state- 
ment; for the face of the country — as viewed from 
one of the lofty castellated bluffs overlooking "The 
Narrows" through which we sailed on the eventful 
Sabbath evening previous — strongly resembles parts 
of Scotland. There was the same kinds of ranges 
and crowns of hills with strips of forest and farm land, 
as if this island had floated off from North Britain and 
set up for itself in high style. The farm-houses looked 



AN OUTLOOK. 301 

comfortable and cozy, and the outlook was rather 
pleasing. From the top of this rock which, by the 
way, was fortified with parapet and bastion, we 
counted four lakes. There are many lakes on the 
island; one has a regular tide like the ocean. The 
heather grows green on the hillsides, though a differ- 
ent variety from what we saw in Scotland and Ireland. 
We saw the Newfoundland dog on his native heath; 
and a number of the passengers invested in the infant 
variety of that species. There was a rage for souvenirs 
of our advent into this quarter of the earth; but we 
did not want a dog, not even one born on the soil. 

We were much interested in the curing, drying and 
stacking for commerce of great quantities of codfish, 
and the distributing of squids to the outward-bound 
fisher-boats. Squids are a kind -of small fish used for 
bait in codfishing, the handling of which, at that time, 
was making the political sky squally between us and 
Great Britain. 

Our great ship lay at anchor in this beautiful and 
peaceful harbor, and when we visited the coast, we had 
to climb down, one at a time, a rather shaky rope 
ladder that landed us in the bottom of a little row- 
boat; and from there the oarsman pushed lightly off 
to shore with two or sometimes four passengers. The 
mishap to this vessel was a harvest to such traffickers. 
Our boatman was a lad of some eighteen summers. 
He hailed from Glasgow and seemed a hardened 
sinner. Not the least abashed, he told us he had run 
away from home, shipped as a hand on a sailing 
vessel bound for this port, and when he landed and 
received his wages, he went to a drinking saloon. The 



302 REMINISCENCES. 

next day he woke to consciousness in the lock-up 
without a penny and friendless. We talked kindly to 
nim and called up the image of his mother; but the 
daring, frolicking boy did not seem to feel. His 
mother may have been no better than himself; there 
are hosts of such. 

The afternoon of September 29 (Thursday), the 
ship was ready for the bounding billows, although we 
scarcely believed it; for from the time the broken 
shaft was lifted out and the new one of solid steel 
twenty-two inches in diameter lowered into the hold, 
there was gratuitous information heralded about every 
hour that we would be ready to sail the next one. It 
was only true when the great anchors were lifted and 
we felt the swing of the vessel as she turned into "The 
Narrows" homeward bound. As a parting salute, the 
dense fog changed base and became a drizzling rain 
and, farther on, a pour.. Until darkness set in, the 
coast line presented the same rocky ramparts, as if it 
guarded the island from all intruders, and old ocean 
hurled itself against it and fell back in a shower of 
spray. During no time did we enjoy the steamer's 
wafting and rocking on the ocean more than the sail 
of 1200 miles from St. John's to New York. The 
visit to a country at the expense of the Company not 
included in the original plan, notwithstanding its dan- 
gers, was full of interest, and we had learned more in 
this way than we had anticipated. A thirty-one days' 
residence in a ship including the outward and return 
journey made us somewhat familiar with such life 
on the ocean, and we were almost loath to part 
with it. In five days more we were landed in New 



THE END. 303 

York harbor — " Home again from a Foreign Shore." 
We had seen God's wonders in the deep; we had felt 
his good hand upon us in all our journeying, shaping 
every event, directing every step, deepening and 
strengthening convictions of truth, making us stronger 
for work and for warfare, stronger to run our race that 
we may win the prize and wear the crown, equipped 
for that home where, 

" The work is done and the rest begun, 
And the training time forever past, 
And the home of rest in the mansions blest 
Is safely, joyously reached at last." 



mm 




